Front Lines

ROUNDUP

Floating Turmoil

Marcy Oster
Jewish Telegraphic Agency

Jerusalem

A

s Israel fended off worldwide con-
demnation for the deaths of nine
international activists aboard a
Gaza-bound ship and blamed the rioting
on the flotilla's organizers, Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu canceled a planned
visit to the White House.
Netanyahu was scheduled to meet
Tuesday with President Obama following
a weekend visit to Canada, which included
a working meeting with Prime Minister
Stephen Harper. The visit would have been
Netanyahu's first meeting with Obama
since a late March meeting at the White
House in which the administration was
accused of snubbing the Israeli leader.
Obama and Netanyahu spoke by tele-
phone Monday and agreed to set up a
meeting at a later date, according to the
Prime Minister's Office.
In Washington, the White House
released a statement Monday on the inci-
dent. "The United States deeply regrets the
loss of life and injuries sustained and is
currently working to understand the cir-
cumstances surrounding this tragedy:' the
statement said.

What Happened
Israel's Navy intercepted six ships early
Monday morning about 70 miles off
Gaza's coast in international waters. The
ships were among a fleet of nine carrying
humanitarian aid and hundreds of pro-
Palestinian activists. The Gaza "Freedom
Flotilla',' organized by the pro-Hamas Free
Gaza group, had left last week from ports in
Ireland, Greece and Turkey.
Israel had radioed to the ships numerous
times late Sunday night and early Monday
morning requesting that they head to the
port of Ashdod, where they could unload
their aid material to be transferred to
Gaza after security inspections, the Israel
Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement.
Upon boarding the largest ship, the
Marmara, run by IHH, a Turkish humani-
tarian relief fund with a radical Islamic
anti-Western orientation, the Israeli board-
ing group was attacked with metal clubs
and knives as well as live fire, according to
the IDF.
"The demonstrators had clearly pre-
pared their weapons in advance for this

Photo by Reuters/Urie l S ina i/pool

Israel blames flotilla organizers for Gaza deaths; stands by interception.

Israeli patrol craft approach one of the ships in the flotilla.

specific purpose the statement said, add-
ing that the Navy then used riot dispersal
methods, which include live fire. "The
forces operated in adherence with opera-
tional commands and took all necessary
actions in order to avoid violence, but to
no avail:' the IDF statement said.
Among the IDF commandos who inter-
cepted the ships was Yaakov Greenbaum,
son of Rabbi Ofer and Toby Greenbaum,
who live in West Bloomfield and are
teachers at Akiva Hebrew Day School
in Southfield and members of Sara and
Morris Tugman Bais Chabad Torah Center
of West Bloomfield.
In addition to the activists who died in
the rioting, tens of protesters were injured
and evacuated to Israeli hospitals. Seven
Israeli soldiers were reported injured; two
listed in serious condition were upgraded
later to moderate.

Israeli Response
"We found weapons that were prepared
in advance and used against our forces:'
Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon
said of the ship during a news conference
Monday afternoon. "The organizers' intent
was violent, their method was violent, and
unfortunately, the results were violent."
Ayalon said that if the ships' journey
was truly for humanitarian purposes, they
would have accepted Israel's offer to deliver
the goods to Gaza. He pointed out that
organizers said repeatedly that their goal
was to break the blockade on Gaza.

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak
blamed the organizers of the convoy for
the violent outcome. "The sail was a provo-
cation. The organization behind the flotilla
is not ahumanitarian aid organization:'
he said during a news conference Monday
afternoon.

"Free Gaza" Strategy
Days before the convoy's arrival, the Navy
held several drills to prepare for turning
back the convoy — including preparing
for violence. Audrey Bomse, legal adviser
to the Free Gaza movement, told CNN that
the purpose of the flotilla was to break
the Gaza blockade, adding that "the siege
is not legal." She also pointed out that
the United Nations-sponsored Goldstone
report called the siege a "probable crime
against humanity."
Turkish authorities inspected the
Marmara before it left for Gaza, Bomse
said, and therefore she does not believe that
it would have had weapons on board. "It
was supposed to be a nonviolent protest','
she stressed.
Bomse said that leaders of the protest
did not agree to give Israel the humanitar-
ian aid to pass on because Israel would not
have allowed some of the cargo, including
building materials and pre-fab houses, to
be given to Gaza. Israel has imposed a mar-
itime blockade of Gaza because the Jewish
state is in a state of armed conflict with
Hamas, which controls the Strip, according
to the Foreign Ministry.

"Maritime blockades are a legitimate
and recognized measure under interna-
tional law that may be implemented as
part of an armed conflict at see including
in international waters as long as it does
not bar neutral states from reaching ports
and coasts of other states, according to the
ministry statement.
"The protesters indicated their clear
intention to violate the blockade by means
of written and oral statements. Moreover,
the route of these vessels indicated their
clear intention to violate the blockade
in violation of international law:' the
ministry said, adding, "Given the protest-
ers explicit intention to violate the naval
blockade, Israel exercised its right
under international law to enforce the
blockade."
The ministry added that "explicit warn-
ings were relayed directly to the captains
of the vessels, expressing Israel's intent to
exercise its right to enforce the blockade."

Protests Mount
Israel police moved to high alert across the
country out of concern that Arab citizens of
Israel would riot. As part of the measures,
the Temple Mount area in Jerusalem was
closed to visitors. Israeli Arabs rioted at
the Uhm-al-Fahm junction and in the city
of Acre. Hundreds of Arab students also
protested at Haifa University, injuring a
policeman.
Peace Now activists protested in Tel Aviv
and made their way to the Ashdod port to

Fiasco on page 10

8 June 3 2010

