Letter about Israeli flotilla incident
Real facts about flotilla incident
I am tired of reading misinformation about the “humanitarian aid” flotilla incident Monday. Here are the real facts:
* A state of armed conflict exists between Israel and the Hamas regime controlling Gaza. Under international law, Israel has the right to protect the lives of its civilians and has undertaken measures to defend itself, including the imposition of a maritime blockade to curb weapons smuggling by Hamas.
* Five of the six flotilla vessels offered passive resistance to the Israeli boarding parties, and the redirection of these vessels was accomplished in a peaceful manner.
* Activists on the sixth Turkish ship Mavi Marmara violently attacked the Israeli landing party with knives, iron bars, hatchets, chains and other weapons. Some activists also discharged firearms and explosives, and threw an Israeli officer over the side of the ship. The premeditated nature of the violence was evidenced by the clubs, knives and bullet-proof vests that were found aboard the ship, and the coordinated actions of the attackers.
* After several Israeli personnel were wounded, some critically, the landing party was forced to act in self-defense. Regrettably, nine of the activists were killed, including four from Turkey and an American teenager.
* The organization responsible for the ship, the IHH, promotes an extreme anti-Western agenda. It has been associated with the recruitment and financing of Jihadist terrorists worldwide. Large quantities of cash were found on board.
* Israel does not prevent aid from reaching Gaza via established land-based crossings and there is no lack of humanitarian aid to the strip. Israel repeatedly proposed that the flotilla organizers land in the port of Ashdod and transfer their aid to Gaza through the existing overland crossings. Had the aid been delivered directly to Ashdod in the first place, as Israel offered, the entire tragic incident could have been avoided.
Angela Eisenman
Hewitt
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