Gaza Flotilla Preplanned Attack on Soldiers

August 1, 2010

Said an IDF statement, “IDF naval forces were met with premeditated violence, evident by the activists' use of clubs, metal rods, and knives, as well as the firing of two weapons stolen from the soldiers, causing for defensive action on behalf of the forces who felt their lives were endangered.” The IDF eventually took control of the boats and took them to the Ashdod port.

In a separate IDF statement, Israel noted that initially the soldiers attempted to deal with the mob in non-lethal ways. “As a result of this life-threatening and violent activity, naval forces first employed riot dispersal means, followed by live fire.” IDF spokeswoman Lt. Col. Avital Leibovich told Bridges for Peace that the largest ship in the flotilla was where the violence occurred. She said the IDF soldiers’ wounds included stabbing and gunshot wounds. “We’re talking about basically dozens of activists attacking each Navy SEAL. We’re talking about a pre-planned violent attack.”

The IDF’s Youtube channel showed video of the soldiers being violently attacked . Leibovich said the activists initiated the violence. “You can easily see the footage in which some of our officers are coming down from a helicopter, and before even setting foot on the ground of the ship, they were attacked severely.”

The international diplomatic fallout from the Gaza flotilla incident led to a United Nations Security Council Resolution that called for an investigation into the situation. According to The New York Times, however, that resolution’s criticism of Israel appeared to be scaled down from what Turkey wanted. Instead of directly condemning Israel for the lethal results, the resolution expressed regret over the injuries and deaths and then condemned “those acts which resulted in the loss” of life.

Source: By Joshua Spurlock, BFP Israel Mosaic Radio