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news
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worldnews
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middleeast
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palestinianauthority
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7790984
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-----
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# Israel reconstruction: how the Gaza aid flotilla attack unfolded
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## Minutes before violent chaos engulfed the Gaza aid flotilla, a British
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activist frantically tapped away in the darkness, broadcasting an SOS from his
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laptop.
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![Israel reconstruction: how the Gaza aid flotilla attack unfolded][1]
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The Israeli Defence Force released a video with captions showing how their
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commandos were attacked as they boarded the ship Photo: BBC/IDF
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Richard Edwards 9:30PM BST 31 May 2010
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Kevin Ovenden, aboard the lead ship, the Turkish Mavi Marmara, sensed a tense
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game of cat-and-mouse in the Mediterranean sea was about to come to a dramatic
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climax.
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Having set off on Sunday hoping to avoid the Israeli military, he wrote on his
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blog: "We are 90 miles away from land - 22 miles further than the Israeli-
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decided 68-mile exclusion zone - but are being approached by an Israeli
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vessel.
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"The Israeli media is reporting that Israel will deploy a very large naval
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force … this is an illegal aggressive move.
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"All aboard are prepared. This is a very serious situation and we are calling
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on everyone to play their part in helping ensure their safety, and that the
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aid reaches Gaza without difficulty."
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The flotilla, which had been warned that it would not be allowed to reach
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Gaza, attempted to slow and change course, hoping to prevent a confrontation
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until daylight, when the Israeli military action could be better filmed and
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broadcast by the activists aboard.
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## Related Articles
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* [Protests erupt around the world after Israeli raid][2]
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31 May 2010
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* [Calls to isolate Israel after aid flotilla killings][3]
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31 May 2010
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* [Turkey and Israel: when best friends fall out][4]
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31 May 2010
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* [Israeli army release Gaza aid ship raid video][5]
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31 May 2010
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* [Gaza aid flotilla: Israel releases activists][6]
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01 Jun 2010
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* [Flotilla attack in pictures][7]
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01 Jun 2010
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But at just after 4.30am, under cover of darkness, the Israelis called for
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decisive action. Orders were sent for commandos to intercept and takeover the
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ships - and so began a catastrophic, bungled operation which would claim the
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lives of up to 19 people, and draw international condemnation.
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Just after Mr Ovenden had blogged about the silhouette of rubber launches and
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speedboats approaching on the murky waters, barely visible in the darkness, a
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helicopter began hovering overheard.
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The aid armada was still in international waters, but commandos had swarmed
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around it and targeted the biggest ship, the Marmara.
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Incensed by the aggressive attempt to capture their vessel, 30 or more
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activists gathered on the top deck and readied themselves for the assault.
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Hundreds more, who had been sleeping in the lower two decks, were roused by
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the commotion.
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While groups of 10 commandos at a time jumped aboard from their rubber
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launches, elite troops from the Israeli commando unit Flotilla 13 rappelled
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down from the helicopter on to the Marmara. Their plan was to land on the top
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deck, rush to the vessel's bridge and order the captain to stop. They had been
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ordered to take control of the flotilla peacefully, just as they had with
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previous flotillas.
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But the instant they landed, pandemonium broke loose.
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Some activists claim that the troops, carrying rifles and handguns, and
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wearing body armour, began firing indiscriminately.
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However, video footage released by the Israeli Defence Force suggested they
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were attacked first with a metal pole, sticks, clubs, and marble slingshots.
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The troops responded with by throwing stun grenades, but the loud burst
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explosions that went off with each one whipped up a frenzied atmosphere as the
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activists believed they were being fired upon.
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Television pictures showed activists with sticks bludgeoning an Israeli
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soldier as he tried to land on the boat from the helicopter, with activists
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tugging at the rope.
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One commando was then grabbed by several of the protestors, who wrestled his
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handgun off him and allegedly threw him over the edge of the top deck, 30 feet
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below.
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It was the point where the chaotic melee descended to bloodshed.
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The Flotilla 13 troops now radioed to their commander for permission to begin
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shooting.
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The commander replied: "You can go ahead and fire".
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According to one witness, the Israeli journalist Ron Ben Yishai: "The soldiers
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pulled out their handguns and started shooting at the rioters' legs."
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Shaking television footage showed one man lying unconscious on the deck, while
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another man was helped away.
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A woman wearing hijab, the Muslim headscarf, was seen carrying a stretcher
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covered in blood.
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Screams were interspersed with sounds of more gunfire.
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One unnamed reporter, from Press TV, said in a broadcast: "We are being hit by
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tear gas, stun grenades. We have navy boats on either side and a helicopters
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overhead. We are being attacked from all sides. This is in intenational
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waters, not Israeli waters, not in the 68-mile exclusion zone."
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Jamal Elshayyal, a British al-Jazeera reporter on board the Marmara, sent a
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final report just after the troops had landed.
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"Two people have been confirmed killed by the Israeli Army, and the organisers
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on board the Mavi Marmara have now asked all the passengers to go inside. They
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have raised the white flag.
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"Tens of people, civilians, have been injured. There are still sounds of live
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fire, despite the white flag being raised."
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The broadcast stopped with a voice shouting in Hebrew "Everyone shut up" as
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the reporters were bundled down into the lower decks.
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As the disaster unfolded, the airwaves went ominously quiet - the Israelis had
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scrambled all mobile phones and satellites - and the claim and counter-claim
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began.
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Israeli authorities gave no details of the injuries suffered by activists. It
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confirmed that 10 were dead, although government sources suggested the figure
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could be as high as 19.
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The Israeli military defended itself, saying the troops were deliberately
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ambushed by activists in a planned attack. At least ten personnel were
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injured, one seriously, it said.
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Two of the dead activists had fired at soldiers with pistols, the army also
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claimed.
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An IDF spokesman said: "We didn't look for confrontation but it was a massive
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attack," she said. "What happened was a last resort."
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The stories of those onboard have yet to be told.
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With the main ship effectively seized, and the supporting five boats also
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captured, the flotilla was guided to the port of Ashdod, while the injured and
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bodies of the dead were airlifted to hospitals in Tel Aviv, Haifa and
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Ashkelon.
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But supporters across the world condemned the attack on a "peaceful mission".
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The Free Gaza Movement, one of the organisers of the flotilla, said the IDF
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had started the violence, firing as soon as they boarded the ship.
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There were no firearms carried by the activists, it was claimed.
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Their cargo had included simply 10,000 tonnes of aid and an eclectic mix of
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around 650 activists, including European parliamentarians, women, children,
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the media. They even had the support of "celebrity" protestors such as Mairead
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Corrigan Maguire, the Irish Nobel peace laureate, and best selling author of
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the Wallander detective novels, Henning Mankell.
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[X][8] Share & bookmark
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[What are these?][9]
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* Share: [Share][8] [ ][10] [ ][11]
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[Tweet][12]
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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/palestinianauthority/7790
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984/Israel-reconstruction-how-the-Gaza-aid-flotilla-attack-unfolded.html
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Telegraph
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## [Palestinian Authority][13]
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* ### [News »][14]
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* ### [World News »][15]
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* ### [Middle East »][16]
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* ### [Israel »][17]
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In news
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[![Police clash with protesters in the Arab-Israeli city of Uhm el-Fahm][18]
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][19]
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### [Clashes in Israel][19]
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[![A rights group on Monday published new photos of Israeli soldiers posing
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with a detainee and vandalising a Palestinian home, in images apparently taken
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during the 2008-2009 Gaza war. ][20] ][21]
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Bank city of Ramallah ][22] ][23]
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[![Jewish activists set sail in support of Gaza][26] ][27]
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### [Jewish activists set sail in support of Gaza][27]
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[What are these?][9]
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Share:
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* [ ][8]
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* [ ][10]
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* [Tweet][12]
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* Advertisement
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![][28]
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## [Middle East news »][16]
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