Salt Shakers E-News – 3rd June 2010
 
If you relied on the mainstream media for your news about the recent incident with the Israeli armed forces boarding the flotilla of boats that was sailing for Gaza that resulted in casualties, you’d have a fairly one-sided view of things.

Media reports have referred to ‘an aid convey’, ‘peace activists’ and ‘humanitarian aid’ and the number of these ‘peace activists’ who were killed.
 
Yet a Turkish Islamist group connected to Al Qa’ida was responsible for the ‘convoy’…. read on for another look at the issue…
 
Reports of national leaders condemning Israel for their actions have been prominent, including from PM Kevin Rudd. Little mention was made of the fact that Egypt did not join in the condemnation. One report noted, in the last line of their article, that Egypt had been silent – but they didn’t explain that Egypt had also imposed a blockade on Gaza along with Israel because of Hamas being in control in Gaza!
 
Protests by Islamic and left-wing groups around the world condemned Israel. In Sydney, a protest was led by Sheik al Hilaly, the former Islamic mufti of Australia -  SMH reported “Sheik Taj el-Din al Hilaly, from Lakemba mosque, addressed the protest, calling Israel a terrorist state. He held up a Turkish flag, chanting ”Turkey is coming”, before leading the protesters on the march down George Street.”
 
The ABC’s Kerry O’Brien interviewed a spokesmen for Israel’s foreign ministry – who explained what had happened and pointed out that the convoy to try and break the sanctions was coordinated by an Islamist group from Turkey called the the Turkish IHH (Insani Yardim Vakfi) that Israel has designated a terrorist organization. Nevertheless the ABC ignored this and continued with their approach of condemning the Israeli soldiers for boarding the ships. (View report here  – scroll down to “Israel faces criticism over fatal raid on Gaza aid ship”). They spoke to people on some ships who assured the media that they didn’t have guns or weapons and it was all ‘peaceful’.

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By Ron Ben-Yishai, Ynetnews

Ron Ben Yishai recounts the bloody clash aboard Gaza-bound vessel: The lacking crowd-dispersal means, the brutal violence of ‘peace activists,’ and the attempt to bring down an IDF helicopter.

Our Navy commandoes fell right into the hands of the Gaza mission members. A few minutes before the takeover attempt aboard the Marmara got underway, the operation commander was told that 20 people were waiting on the deck where a helicopter was to deploy the first team of the elite Flotilla 13 unit. The original plan was to disembark on the top deck, and from there rush to the vessel’s bridge and order the Marmara’s captain to stop.

Officials estimated that passengers will show slight resistance, and possibly minor violence; for that reason, the operation’s commander decided to bring the helicopter directly above the top deck. The first rope that soldiers used in order to descend down to the ship was wrested away by activists, most of them Turks, and tied to an antenna with the hopes of bringing the chopper down. However, Flotilla 13 fighters decided to carry on.

Navy commandoes slid down to the vessel one by one, yet then the unexpected occurred: The passengers that awaited them on the deck pulled out bats, clubs, and slingshots with glass marbles, assaulting each soldier as he disembarked. The fighters were nabbed one by one and were beaten up badly, yet they attempted to fight back. (more…)

Jerusalem Prayer Team – Mike Evans Ministries

On May 31, Israel walked straight into a trap—a trap set by a group of so-called activists determined to break Israeli attempts to halt the flow of arms and war materiel into the Gaza strip.

Having been warned in advance that the intent of the Free Gaza movement flotilla was to shatter the Israeli blockade, the IDF prepared to board the ships and divert them to Ashdod for inspection. A member of the Free Gaza organization credited with launching the flotilla, Greta Berlin, clarified the intent of the group: “We’re not trying to be a humanitarian mission.”

Apparently, Israel was ill-informed that the ship carried 700 pro-Palestinian activists prepared to do whatever necessary to reach their goal. American-born pro-Palestinian activist Hawaida Arraf threw down the gauntlet with the assertion: “We fully intend to go to Gaza regardless of any intimidation or threats of violence against us. They are going to have to forcefully stop us.”

According to Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon “the armada of hate and violence in support of the Hamas terror organization was a premeditated and outrageous provocation. The organizers are well-known for their ties to Global Jihad, Al-Qaeda and Hamas. They have a history of arms smuggling and deadly terror. On board the ship we found weapons that were prepared in advance and used against our forces…” (more…)