When is the gaza flotilla

We can't protect ourselves. Over the noise of gunfire, Jamal Elshayyal, reporting for Al Jazeera, said two passengers had been killed. He claimed a white flag of surrender had been raised on board "after Israeli commandos descended upon the ship from a helicopter as well as surrounding it on all sides [in boats]. Shortly afterwards the broadcasts stopped and all internet and satellite phone connections were lost.

The Israeli military had been surprised by the resistance they met, according to an account by Ben Yishai. He said the commandos were carrying paintball rifles. He said they were equipped with handguns but were only authorised to use them in life-threatening situations. He claimed activists stole a handgun from one commando and threw him 30 feet over a rail, causing serious head injuries.

Only after this were commandos authorised to use live ammunition and then shot at activists' legs, he said. He added that passengers pounded soldiers' hands as they tried to climb on board. Footage from inside the ship, broadcast on Turkish television, showed the impact of the battle.

A woman carried a bloodstained stretcher, men were shown bleeding from wounds, people moved about tending the injured. People were stretched out on the floor and it was not clear if they were alive or dead. Flotilla 13, the Israeli naval commando unit that intercepted the Gaza Freedom flotilla, is one of the country's elite military formations, with rigorous selection and training procedures and a reputation for ruthless efficiency. It is known to have been involved in numerous clandestine seaborne operations, including many raids on neighbouring Lebanon.

It works closely with the Mossad secret service. Turkey no longer views Israel as a strategic asset, and was the first year Turkey did not request Israeli assistance in Congress on the Armenian genocide issue. Rather than a potential mediator, Turkey has effectively become a party to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Given such diverging interests, it is likely that the Gaza flotilla incident, which the Turkish government indirectly supported, will intensify the long and painful break in Turkish-Israeli relations.

With the Obama administration refraining from open condemnation of Israel after the attack on the Turkish ship, opposing international investigation of the incident, and failing to support calls for the immediate lifting of the Gaza blockade, there is a very real danger of Turkish-Israeli tensions seeping into U. Critical Questions is produced by the Center for Strategic and International Studies CSIS , a private, tax-exempt institution focusing on international public policy issues.

Its research is nonpartisan and nonproprietary. CSIS does not take specific policy positions. Accordingly, all views, positions, and conclusions expressed in this publication should be understood to be solely those of the author s.

All rights reserved. Skip to main content. Critical Questions. Commandos landed on the largest ship, the Turkish-owned Mavi Marmara, by descending on ropes from helicopters. Clashes broke out immediately and the Israeli commandos opened fire.

This is disputed. The activists say the commandos started shooting as soon as they hit the deck. Israeli officials say the commandos opened fire only after being attacked with clubs, knives and a gun which was taken from them. Video released by the Israeli military stops just before the shooting begins. A UN inquiry was apparently unable to determine at exactly which point the commandos used live fire.

They were all Turkish, although one had dual Turkish-US nationality. All were travelling on the Mavi Marmara. It wanted to deliver aid to Gaza, breaking an Israeli and Egyptian blockade on the territory. The ships were carrying 10, tonnes of goods, including school supplies, building materials and two large electricity generators. The activists also said they wanted to make the point that, in their view, the blockade was illegal under international law.

The Israeli government says the IHH is closely linked to the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, which it views as a terrorist group, and is a member of another organisation, the Union of the Good, which supports suicide bombings.

However, the Turkish government regards the IHH as a legitimate charity, and had urged Israel to let the flotilla through. Israel prevents a large range of goods from reaching Gaza in order to put pressure on Hamas, which dominates the territory.

Israel also wanted to check that the ships did not contain deliveries of weapons or cash. It offered to allow the flotilla to land in an Israeli port, and to deliver by road any goods that passed its checks.

Some flotillas have been allowed to reach Gaza in the past; others have been sent back. On Monday, they reported similar damage to the Swedish ship Juliano at the Greek port of Piraeus and also blamed it on Israeli sabotage. Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak says if the ships insist on challenging the Gaza blockade, they will be intercepted by the Israeli Navy and the organizers will be responsible for any injuries or damage.

Israeli officials say they hope to avoid a repeat of its botched raid on a Gaza-bound flotilla last year, when nine pro-Palestinian activists were killed in a confrontation with Israeli commandos who boarded a Turkish ship.