The problem maybe is that unlike various Coast Guards all over the world, the Israelis do not have any non lethal weapons.  They just go from "stop please" to shooting with nothing in between. That is an international incident waiting to happen

I find this video in you_tube made on board of "Marmara" ship. It`s seen that person from the crew attack a commando with (metal?) stick. From the other side the crew obviously don`t have a guns. May be arme blanche, but not guns. Crew started a resist against Izraeli force.

[TUBE]9fYVi6_m-0k[/TUBE]

The other interesting thing is a strong reaction in Europe. We can`t see every day the all Europe stand as one against Israel. I have a feeling that all is just one big well-planed provocation. The question is-who is the author and what will happen? One is clear-this incident will became important part from the history.  

Partial list of passengers on board:

*USA

Greta Berlin. Co-founder of the Free Gaza Movement

Hedy Epstein (86) St. Louis, Missouri.

Katherine Elliott Sheetz (63) Woods Hole, Mass.. Registered Nurse. Master's degree.

David Schermerhorn (80) Deer Harbor, Washington State. Commercial film producer.

*UK

Alex Harrison (32) London. Solidarity worker.

Theresa McDermott (43) Edinburgh, Scotland. Logistics worker.

Denis Healey (55). Captain.

*IRELAND

Caoimhe Butterly 31. Human rights activist.

Mairead Maguire 66 Belfast. Nobel Peace Laureate.

Mark Daly 37 Kerry. Senator.

Shane Dillon (36) Dublin. Seafarer.

Fiachra O Luain 28 Carndonagh.

*HOLLAND

Annekarijn de Jong (29) Weesp. PhD researcher.

*BELGIUM

Griet M.A. Deknopper (Margarita) (32) Halle. Solidarity activist and teacher trainer.

Inge Neefs (26) Ghent. Studied educational sciences and holds a master in anthropology.

*GREECE

Giorgos Klontzas (39)

Agios Nikolaos. Professional diver and sailor.

*POLAND/UK

Ewa Jasiewicz (31) London, UK / Otwock, Poland. Journalist, community and union organizer, and solidarity worker.

*PALESTINE

Lubna Masarwa (32).

Huwaida Arraf (33) Ramallah, Palestine / Washington D.C. / Detroit, MI. JD. American University Washington College of Law. Twice been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Nader El Sakka (58) Hamburg.

*GERMANY

Annette Groth 56 Berlin, Member of Parliament in the German Bundestag.

Inge D.M. Höger 59 Herford. Member of Parliament in the German Bundestag

Matthias Jochheim 61 Frankfurt. Physician and psychotherapist.

Prof. Dr. Norman Paech 72 Hamburg. Member of Parliament in Germany's Bundestag.

Israel is probably the only country which fights against terrorists (Hamas, Hezbollah, ...) directly, it is clear that the USA and some other ones want to support this country because Israel's fight against terrorism is in fact one of the front lines of the global war against terrorism.

What are you talking about? The US and the West supported Israel even before Hamas or Hezbollah were founded. The first terrorist attack inside Israeli territory happened in the late 1980's, after decades of Israeli oppression.

There is no such thing as a "global war on terror", this is a made up term. Do you know how many terrorist organization the US supports/supported in the past?

There is absolutely no balance of power there, Israel has the upper hand completely. Look at the statistics, the ratio of civilians killed by Israel to Israeli civilians killed by terrorists is easily more than 10:1.

Terrorists live in the different countries, unfortunately this is a fact in the Middle east.

What were those ships doing there? They were going on a voyage to see the beauties of Mediterranean or they wanted to bring aid to the region which is ruled by the terrorist group of Hamas?! I don't know why some people not only don't try to solve the problem of terrorism but add fuel to this fire!

It totally doesn't relate to the regime of Iran.

You just don't know, read it: http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Terrorism-+Obstacle+to+Peace/Palestinian+terror+before+2000/Which+Came+First-+Terrorism+or+Occupation+-+Major.htm - http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Terrorism-+Obstacle+to+Peace/Palestinian+terror+before+2000/Which+Came+First-+Terrorism+or+Occupation+-+Major.htm

Major Arab Terrorist Attacks against Israelis Prior to the 1967 Six-Day War

Jan 1, 1952 - Seven armed terrorists attacked and killed a nineteen year-old girl in her home, in the neighborhood of Beit Yisrael, in Jerusalem.

Apr 14, 1953 - Terrorists tried for the first time to infiltrate Israel by sea, but were unsuccessful. One of the boats was intercepted and the other boat escaped.

June 7, 1953 - A youngster was killed and three others were wounded, in shooting attacks on residential areas in southern Jerusalem.

June 9, 1953 - Terrorists attacked a farming community near Lod, and killed one of the residents. The terrorists threw hand grenades and sprayed gunfire in all directions. On the same night, another group of terrorists attacked a house in the town of Hadera. This occurred a day after Israel and Jordan signed an agreement, with UN mediation, in which Jordan undertook to prevent terrorists from crossing into Israel from Jordanian territory.

June 10, 1953 - Terrorists infiltrating from Jordan destroyed a house in the farming village of Mishmar Ayalon.

June 11, 1953 - Terrorists attacked a young couple in their home in Kfar Hess, and shot them to death.

Sept 2, 1953 - Terrorists infiltrated from Jordan, and reached the neighborhood of Katamon, in the heart of Jerusalem. They threw hand grenades in all directions. Miraculously, no one was hurt.

Mar 17, 1954 - Terrorists ambushed a bus traveling from Eilat to Tel Aviv, and opened fire at short range when the bus reached the area of Maale Akrabim in the northern Negev. In the initial ambush, the terrorists killed the driver and wounded most of the passengers. The terrorists then boarded the bus, and shot each passenger, one by one. Eleven passengers were murdered. Survivors recounted how the murderers spat on the bodies and abused them. The terrorists could clearly be traced back to the Jordanian border, some 20 km from the site of the terrorist attack.

Jan 2, 1955 - Terrorists killed two hikers in the Judean Desert.

Mar 24, 1955 - Terrorists threw hand grenades and opened fire on a crowd at a wedding in the farming community of Patish, in the Negev. A young woman was killed, and eighteen people were wounded in the attack.

Apr 7, 1956 - A resident of Ashkelon was killed in her home, when terrorists threw three hand grenades into her house.
Two members of Kibbutz Givat Chaim were killed, when terrorists opened fire on their car, on the road from Plugot Junction to Mishmar Hanegev.
There were further hand grenade and shooting attacks on homes and cars, in areas such as Nitzanim and Ketziot. One person was killed and three others wounded.

Apr 11, 1956 - Terrorists opened fire on a synagogue full of children and teenagers, in the farming community of Shafrir. Three children and a youth worker were killed on the spot, and five were wounded, including three seriously.

Apr 29, 1956 - Egyptians killed Roi Rotenberg, 21 years of age, from Nahal Oz.

Sept 12, 1956 - Terrorists killed three Druze guards at Ein Ofarim, in the Arava region.

Sept 23, 1956 - Terrorists opened fire from a Jordanian position, and killed four archaeologists, and wounded sixteen others, near Kibbutz Ramat Rachel.

Sept 24, 1956 - Terrorists killed a girl in the fields of the farming community of Aminadav, near Jerusalem.

Oct 4, 1956 - Five Israeli workers were killed in Sdom.

Oct 9, 1956 - Two workers were killed in an orchard of the youth village, Neve Hadassah, in the Sharon region.

Nov 8, 1956 - Terrorists opened fire on a train, attacked cars and blew up wells, in the North and Center of Israel. Six Israelis were wounded.

Feb 18, 1957 - Two civilians were killed by terrorist landmines, next to Nir Yitzhak, on the southern border of the Gaza Strip.

Mar 8, 1957 - A shepherd from Kibbutz Beit Govrin was killed by terrorists in a field near the Kibbutz.

Apr 16, 1957 - Terrorists infiltrated from Jordan, and killed two guards at Kibbutz Mesilot.

May 20, 1957 - A terrorist opened fire on a truck in the Arava region, killing a worker.

May 29, 1957 - A tractor driver was killed and two others wounded, when the vehicle struck a landmine, next to Kibbutz Kisufim.

June 23, 1957 - Israelis were wounded by landmines, close to the Gaza Strip.

Aug 23, 1957 - Two guards of the Israeli Mekorot water company were killed near Kibbutz Beit Govrin.

Dec 21, 1957 - A member of Kibbutz Gadot was killed in the Kibbutz fields.

Feb 11, 1958 - Terrorists killed a resident of Moshav Yanov who was on his way to Kfar Yona, in the Sharon area.

Apr 5, 1958 - Terrorists lying in ambush shot and killed two people near Tel Lachish.

Apr 22, 1958 - Jordanian soldiers shot and killed two fishermen near Aqaba.

May 26, 1958 - Four Israeli police officers were killed in a Jordanian attack on Mt. Scopus, in Jerusalem.

Nov 17, 1958 - Syrian terrorists killed the wife of the British air attache in Israel, who was staying at the guesthouse of the Italian Convent on the Mt. of the Beatitudes.

Dec 3, 1958- A shepherd was killed at Kibbutz Gonen. In the artillery attack that followed, 31 civilians were wounded.

Jan 23, 1959 - A shepherd from Kibbutz Lehavot Habashan was killed.

Feb 1, 1959 - Three civilians were killed by a terrorist landmine near Moshav Zavdiel.

Apr 15, 1959 - A guard was killed at Kibbutz Ramat Rahel.

Apr 27, 1959 - Two hikers were shot at close range and killed near Massada.

Sept 6, 1959 - Bedouin terrorists killed a paratroop reconnaissance officer near Nitzana.

Sept 8, 1959 - Bedouins opened fire on an army bivouac in the Negev, killing an IDF officer, Captain Yair Peled.

Oct 3, 1959 - A shepherd from Kibbutz Heftziba was killed near Kibbutz Yad Hana.

Apr 26, 1960 - Terrorists killed a resident of Ashkelon south of the city.

Apr 12, 1962 - Terrorists fired on an Egged bus on the way to Eilat; one passenger was wounded.

Sept 30, 1962 - Two terrorists attacked an Egged bus on the way to Eilat. No one was wounded.

Jan 1, 1965 - Palestinian terrorists attempted to bomb the National Water Carrier. This was the first attack carried out by the PLO's Fatah faction.

May 31, 1965 - Jordanian Legionnaires fired on the neighborhood of Musrara in Jerusalem, killing two civilians and wounding four.

June 1, 1965 - Terrorists attack a house in Kibbutz Yiftach.

July 5, 1965 - A Fatah cell planted explosives at Mitzpe Massua, near Beit Guvrin; and on the railroad tracks to Jerusalem near Kafr Battir.

Aug 26, 1965 - A waterline was sabotaged at Kibbutz Manara, in the Upper Galilee.

Sept 29, 1965 - A terrorist was killed as he attempted to attack Moshav Amatzia.

Nov 7, 1965 - A Fatah cell that infiltrated from Jordan blew up a house in Moshav Givat Yeshayahu, south of Beit Shemesh. The house was destroyed, but the inhabitants were miraculously unhurt.

Apr 25, 1966 - Explosions placed by terrorists wounded two civilians and damaged three houses in Moshav Beit Yosef, in the Beit Shean Valley.

May 16, 1966 - Two Israelis were killed when their jeep hit a terrorist landmine, north of the Sea of Galilee and south of Almagor. Tracks led into Syria.

July 13, 1966 - Two soldiers and a civilian were killed near Almagor, when their truck struck a terrorist landmine.

July 14, 1966 - Terrorists attacked a house in Kfar Yuval, in the North.

July 19, 1966 - Terrorists infiltrated into Moshav Margaliot on the northern border and planted nine explosive charges.

Oct 27, 1966 - A civilian was wounded by an explosive charge on the railroad tracks to Jerusalem.

Those ships were bringing humanitarian aid to Gaza, which has been besieged for over three years now.

Hamas was a democratically elected government, and every government has the right to have armed forces.

People of Gaza should understand that they should also work to gain money, of course they still expect that those Arab billionaires, like Munib Al-masri, still come and built some other ultra-luxury residential complexes for them, like Al Mashtal complex:

Terrorists live in the different countries, unfortunately this is a fact in the Middle east.

This is a critical component of terrorism, because it satisfies one of the Principles of Terrorism, which shall be discussed in a later section. The ability to gain sympathy helps the terrorist to create support locally and abroad. Without public sympathy, it is extremely difficult to progress from the terrorism stage to the guerilla warfare stage. Likewise, without international sympathy, the acquirement of arms, etc. is virtually impossible.

• Well, the propaganda machine and the Israeli lobby AIPAC have once again successfully lied to the American public. The news here is reporting that it was Israel that was attacked and the Israeli's acted in self defense. Also according to the media here, the flotilla consisted of terrorists.
  
• In other news, the United States prevented any condemnation of Israel at the UN, and is attempting to prevent the UN from conducting an investigation into the incident.
• Israel still refuses to give any information on the incident, and refuses to release the full footage of what happened, simply showing footage in the middle of Israeli troops landing on the boats and nothing more, not what happened before and not the Israeli troops shooting the civilians. According to some sources, the Israeli's fired first from boats prior to landing on the ships.

• Hey Cyrus, do you also use Nazi German sources to study World War II.
• Do you use Iranian regime sources regarding the 2009 uprisings/Green Movement (according to the Iranian government they were terrorists, and the Basiji's used self defense when they killed protesters).
• Do you use Chinese government sources to study the Tienanmen Massacre?
• Do you use Hamas sources to study the Israeli Palestinian conflict?
• Do you use Soviet sources to study Soviet history?

Gaza is simply one ginormous humanitarian catastrophe. I find it simply amazing that there are still guys who fall - whether innocently or otherwise - for the Israeli version of events and support the Israeli action.

Others' views on this event:

http://talkradionews.com/2010/06/gaza-flotilla-had-ties-to-terrorist-organizations-claims-british-officer/ - Gaza Flotilla Had Ties To Terrorist Organizations, Claims British Officer

Hmmmm. Well. What else would ya expect from an Afghanistan veteran? Ask him how many innocent children, women and elderly he enjoyed killing in Kabul and Kandahar. I pray that he doesn't end up in Iran one of these days. I wouldn't wish any Iranian to be the object of his enjoyment any time in the future.

Oh! You can still keep clapping that time if you like, but you can't sing, scream or shout anymore, cos your throat, or your arse, will be filled full with a bayonet at the end of an Uzi.

Igniore the above, infernal machines.

Hey Shield you are mental!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I think the US Count just went over 1,000 that’s 1,000 in 9 years. Every life lost is awful. But in terms of wars that’s not a whole lot. There have been more 12,000 Taliban Killed. So 10, 20 thousand—I think not.

Didn't 128 Talies just surrender the other day, weren't they just kicked out of a valley in Nuristan by the ANA?

Back to the point the real enemy is Pakistan--They are fermenting the insurgency--Also I have read they have captured Mullah Omar, not confirmed officially.

• Israel claims that those on board were terrorists and that the ship was carrying weapons.

• Israel has provided no evidence that anyone on board was a terrorist, and in fact released all the prisoners shortly after.
• No weapons were found on board any of the ships.
• There were people from all over the world on the board on those ships, including politicians, reporters, professors, students, a Nobel Laureate, film makers, etc... (for a full list of notable people on board as well as the countries represented, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_participants_of_the_Gaza_flotilla - here )
  

• Their troops acted in self defense.
• The Israeli account is that they gave the ships a warning, then boarded them. As they were boarding the ships, they were ambushed in an organized attack and therefore used their lethal weapons in self defense.
  

• The Israeli's began shooting prior to boarding the vessels, there was no organized resistance
  
• Here are some of the accounts by passengers:

• Arafat Shoukri, of the Free Gaza Movement (FGM) which helped organise the convoy, said those on board one ship had told them by telephone that Israeli helicopters had arrived. "Then we started to hear screams, shouting, shooting everywhere," he said. "We heard some of them shouting 'We are raising the white flag, stop shooting at us'."

  (Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/10199480.stm - BBC News )

• Zoabi and others on board do not deny there was resistance but say it was not organized. "The ... helicopters, the ships and gunfire created the atmosphere that people wanted to defend themselves," Zoabi said.

  (Source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100602/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_israel_raid_reconstruction - AP )

• Bulent Yildrim: "Yes, we took their guns. It would be self-defence even if we fired their guns. We told our friends on board: 'We will die, become martyrs, but never let us be shown... as the ones who used guns'. By this decision, our friends accepted death, and we threw all the guns we took from them into the sea." He described how a doctor and a journalist were both shot at close range, and said another activist was shot as he was surrendering. "I took off my shirt and waved it, as a white flag. We thought they would stop after seeing the white flag, but they continued killing people," he said.

  
  

• Norman Paech, a former member of Germany's Left Party, was aboard the Mavi Marmara. Speaking at a news conference in Berlin, he said the ship was surrounded by small Israeli assault boats on Monday morning at about 0430 local time. "Moments later, we heard detonations and then soldiers from helicopters above us dropped down on board. "The soldiers were all masked, carrying big guns and were extremely brutal." Mr Paech said he only saw three activists resisting. "They had no knives, no axes, only sticks that they used to defend themselves," he told reporters. But he said he could "not rule out" that others used weapons somewhere else on the boat.

• Turkish activist Nilufer Cetin told reporters she hid with her baby in the bathroom of her cabin aboard the Mavi Marmara. "When the Mavi Marmara continued on its course, the harassment [from Israeli ships] turned into an attack," she said. "They used smoke bombs followed by gas canisters. They started to descend on to the ship with helicopters. "It [the violence] was extremely bad and brutal. The ship turned into a lake of blood.

• Activist Dimitris Gielalis, who had been aboard the Sfendoni, was among six Greeks who returned home on Tuesday. "Suddenly from everywhere we saw inflatables coming at us, and within seconds fully equipped commandos came up on the boat," he said. "They came up and used plastic bullets, we had beatings, we had electric shocks, any method we can think of, they used." Mr Gielalis said the boat's captain was beaten for refusing to leave the wheel, and had sustained non-life-threatening injuries, while a cameraman filming the raid was hit with a rifle butt in the eye. "Of course we weren't prepared for a situation of war," he said.

• Aris Papadokostopoulos was aboard the Free Mediterranean, travelling behind the Mavi Marmara and carrying mainly Greek and Swedish activists. "The Turkish ship [the Mavi Marmara] was in front of us... on which there was a terrible raid from the air and from the sea and from everywhere, with shooting," he said. Mr Papadokostopoulos said aboard the other boats, commandos beat activists but nobody was gravely injured. He said no-one put up resistance on the Free Mediterranean, which was carrying a cargo of wheelchairs, building material and medical and pharmaceutical aid. "Some people were hit by clubs and electric shocks. During their interrogation, many of them were badly beaten in front of us," he said.

  (Source for the above five: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/middle_east/10206802.stm - BBC News )

• "The attack on the Mavi Marmara came in an instant: they attacked it with 12 or 13 attack boats and also with commandos from helicopters. We heard the gunshots over our portable radio handsets, which we used to communicate with the Mavi Marmara, because our ship communication system was disrupted. There were three or four helicopters also used in the attack. We were told by Mavi Marmara their crew and civilians were being shot at and windows and doors were being broken by Israelis."

• Michalis Grigoropoulos, who was at the wheel of the Free Mediterranean, said: "We were in international waters. The Israelis acted like pirates, completely out of the normal way that they conduct nautical exercises, and seized our ship. They took us hostage, pointing guns at our heads; they descended from helicopters and fired tear gas and bullets. There was absolutely nothing we could do … Those who tried to resist forming a human ring on the bridge were given electric shocks."

• Grigoropoulos, who insisted the ship was full of humanitarian aid bound for Gaza "and nothing more", said that, once detained, the human rights activists were not allowed to contact a lawyer or the Greek embassy in Tel Aviv. "They didn't let us go to the toilet, eat or drink water and throughout they videoed us. They confiscated everything, mobile phones, laptops, cameras and personal effects. They only allowed us to keep our papers."

  (Source for the above three: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jun/01/gaza-flotilla-eyewitness-accounts-gunfire - The Guardian )
• As all the passengers have now been released, more statements are sure to follow.
  

• Israel hijacked the boats in international waters, and the crew had every right to defend themselves against piracy.
• A 19 year old American was killed, with 4 shots to the head and one to the chest at close range. (Source: http://abcnews.go.com/WN/Media/american-killed-gaza-aid-flotilla/story?id=10814848 - ABC News )
• Israel refuses to release the full video of the incident (Israel refuses to show the video prior to boarding and the shooting of the civilians).
• Israel is opposed to any international investigation of the incident.
• Israel confiscated all the laptops, cameras, and memory cards that the passengers had and will not return them.
  

• Israel offered to transport the ships humanitarian aid to Gaza.

• Israel would transport the goods to Gaza after the goods were inspected for contraband. Almost everything the boats were carrying are considered contraband by Israel, such as some food stuffs, medicines, building equipment, playgrounds, books, pencils, motorized carts, etc... Therefore, most of the goods would never have reached Gaza.

• Israel claims that those on board were terrorists and that the ship was carrying weapons.

• Israel has provided no evidence that anyone on board was a terrorist, and in fact released all the prisoners shortly after.
• No weapons were found on board any of the ships.
• There were people from all over the world on the board on those ships, including politicians, reporters, professors, students, a Nobel Laureate, film makers, etc... (for a full list of notable people on board as well as the countries represented, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_participants_of_the_Gaza_flotilla - here )
  

• Their troops acted in self defense.
• The Israeli account is that they gave the ships a warning, then boarded them. As they were boarding the ships, they were ambushed in an organized attack and therefore used their lethal weapons in self defense.
  

• The Israeli's began shooting prior to boarding the vessels, there was no organized resistance
  
• Here are some of the accounts by passengers:

• Arafat Shoukri, of the Free Gaza Movement (FGM) which helped organise the convoy, said those on board one ship had told them by telephone that Israeli helicopters had arrived. "Then we started to hear screams, shouting, shooting everywhere," he said. "We heard some of them shouting 'We are raising the white flag, stop shooting at us'."

  (Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/10199480.stm - BBC News )

• Zoabi and others on board do not deny there was resistance but say it was not organized. "The ... helicopters, the ships and gunfire created the atmosphere that people wanted to defend themselves," Zoabi said.

  (Source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100602/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_israel_raid_reconstruction - AP )

• Bulent Yildrim: "Yes, we took their guns. It would be self-defence even if we fired their guns. We told our friends on board: 'We will die, become martyrs, but never let us be shown... as the ones who used guns'. By this decision, our friends accepted death, and we threw all the guns we took from them into the sea." He described how a doctor and a journalist were both shot at close range, and said another activist was shot as he was surrendering. "I took off my shirt and waved it, as a white flag. We thought they would stop after seeing the white flag, but they continued killing people," he said.

  
  

• Norman Paech, a former member of Germany's Left Party, was aboard the Mavi Marmara. Speaking at a news conference in Berlin, he said the ship was surrounded by small Israeli assault boats on Monday morning at about 0430 local time. "Moments later, we heard detonations and then soldiers from helicopters above us dropped down on board. "The soldiers were all masked, carrying big guns and were extremely brutal." Mr Paech said he only saw three activists resisting. "They had no knives, no axes, only sticks that they used to defend themselves," he told reporters. But he said he could "not rule out" that others used weapons somewhere else on the boat.

• Turkish activist Nilufer Cetin told reporters she hid with her baby in the bathroom of her cabin aboard the Mavi Marmara. "When the Mavi Marmara continued on its course, the harassment [from Israeli ships] turned into an attack," she said. "They used smoke bombs followed by gas canisters. They started to descend on to the ship with helicopters. "It [the violence] was extremely bad and brutal. The ship turned into a lake of blood.

• Activist Dimitris Gielalis, who had been aboard the Sfendoni, was among six Greeks who returned home on Tuesday. "Suddenly from everywhere we saw inflatables coming at us, and within seconds fully equipped commandos came up on the boat," he said. "They came up and used plastic bullets, we had beatings, we had electric shocks, any method we can think of, they used." Mr Gielalis said the boat's captain was beaten for refusing to leave the wheel, and had sustained non-life-threatening injuries, while a cameraman filming the raid was hit with a rifle butt in the eye. "Of course we weren't prepared for a situation of war," he said.

• Aris Papadokostopoulos was aboard the Free Mediterranean, travelling behind the Mavi Marmara and carrying mainly Greek and Swedish activists. "The Turkish ship [the Mavi Marmara] was in front of us... on which there was a terrible raid from the air and from the sea and from everywhere, with shooting," he said. Mr Papadokostopoulos said aboard the other boats, commandos beat activists but nobody was gravely injured. He said no-one put up resistance on the Free Mediterranean, which was carrying a cargo of wheelchairs, building material and medical and pharmaceutical aid. "Some people were hit by clubs and electric shocks. During their interrogation, many of them were badly beaten in front of us," he said.

  (Source for the above five: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/middle_east/10206802.stm - BBC News )

• "The attack on the Mavi Marmara came in an instant: they attacked it with 12 or 13 attack boats and also with commandos from helicopters. We heard the gunshots over our portable radio handsets, which we used to communicate with the Mavi Marmara, because our ship communication system was disrupted. There were three or four helicopters also used in the attack. We were told by Mavi Marmara their crew and civilians were being shot at and windows and doors were being broken by Israelis."

• Michalis Grigoropoulos, who was at the wheel of the Free Mediterranean, said: "We were in international waters. The Israelis acted like pirates, completely out of the normal way that they conduct nautical exercises, and seized our ship. They took us hostage, pointing guns at our heads; they descended from helicopters and fired tear gas and bullets. There was absolutely nothing we could do … Those who tried to resist forming a human ring on the bridge were given electric shocks."

• Grigoropoulos, who insisted the ship was full of humanitarian aid bound for Gaza "and nothing more", said that, once detained, the human rights activists were not allowed to contact a lawyer or the Greek embassy in Tel Aviv. "They didn't let us go to the toilet, eat or drink water and throughout they videoed us. They confiscated everything, mobile phones, laptops, cameras and personal effects. They only allowed us to keep our papers."

  (Source for the above three: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jun/01/gaza-flotilla-eyewitness-accounts-gunfire - The Guardian )
• As all the passengers have now been released, more statements are sure to follow.
  

• Israel hijacked the boats in international waters, and the crew had every right to defend themselves against piracy.
• A 19 year old American was killed, with 4 shots to the head and one to the chest at close range. (Source: http://abcnews.go.com/WN/Media/american-killed-gaza-aid-flotilla/story?id=10814848 - ABC News )
• Israel refuses to release the full video of the incident (Israel refuses to show the video prior to boarding and the shooting of the civilians).
• Israel is opposed to any international investigation of the incident.
• Israel confiscated all the laptops, cameras, and memory cards that the passengers had and will not return them.
  

• Israel offered to transport the ships humanitarian aid to Gaza.

• Israel would transport the goods to Gaza after the goods were inspected for contraband. Almost everything the boats were carrying are considered contraband by Israel, such as some food stuffs, medicines, building equipment, playgrounds, books, pencils, motorized carts, etc... Therefore, most of the goods would never have reached Gaza.

(Source: http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/06/03/reporter-disputes-israeli-account-of-raid/?src=twr - New York Times )

So it turns out, as more interviews are done with the crew, that Israel has been in fact lying. Their stories are consistent, and the fact that Israel refuses to release full videos of the attack from beginning to end, the fact that Israel confiscated all laptops, camera's, and memory cards, and the fact that Israel refuses an international investigation also supports the fact that Israel is, indeed, trying to cover something up.

I will post more accounts as they become available. So far, it is evident that the Israeli's were firing on the ships prior to landing.

However Israelis have no foreknowledge but it has been proved that they were right:

-------------

TheGreatSimba, I don't think that you are a fanatical Muslim, but I maybe wrong?! You yourself somehow said that you are not also a racist or an anti-Semitist, I'm really interested to know why you hate Israel? Why do you want to be Haman, not Cyrus the Great? Please don't talk about the history and the human rights, if you don't know Cyrus the Great and what he did.

I'm an atheist, what are you? Whats fashionable in Tehran these days? Religion or ethnicity play no part in my ability to process the FACTS and come to a conclusion.

I hate Israel the same way I hate Nazi Germany, the same way I hate the Islamic Republic, the same way I hate all evil governments.

Why do you hate Arabs so much? I know its pretty fashionable in Iran to hate Arabs...whose the real racist? If you're like most Iranians, you probably have a real deep seeded hatred of Arabs. So the question is, are you an anti-Semite (as I'm sure you know, Arabs are Semites as well)?

Racism has always been fashionable in Iran unfortunately.