Pro-Palestinian “Activists” on board a six-ship flotilla, supposedly carrying aid to the Gaza Strip,  tried to capture and hang the Israel Navy commandos who boarded their boat flying under the flag of Turkey early Monday.   At least nine people were killed and several more were wounded in the ambush.

The commandos intercepted the Turkish ferry Mavi Marmara after it ignored orders to turn back from its course to Gaza  encountered violent resistance from the men on the ship who were armed with sticks and knives. These “activists” threw one of the soldiers from the upper deck to the lower after they boarded. The Pro-Palestinian organizers of the flotilla claimed that the troops opened fire first.

Per an Israeli military spokesman, some of the commandos were equipped with paintball guns.   However, they proved to be insufficient against the “activists” who had batons.

“They had pistols with live ammunition as back-up, to defend themselves,” he said. The IDF said it had confiscated two pistols from the boat.

One of the commandos told reporters:

They beat us with metal sticks and knives.  There was live fire at some point against us.

Per the IDF,  the “activists” took some of the soldiers’ helmets and equipment and tossed several from the top deck to a lower deck, forcing them to jump into the sea to escape.

Another commando said:

They jumped me, hit me with clubs and bottles and stole my rifle.   I pulled out my pistol and had no choice but to shoot.

The  Israeli soldiers were forced to open fire after the activists bashed one of their comrades in the head and trampled on him. A senior IDF field commander ordered the soldiers to respond with gunfire.

The IDF said its rules of engagement allowed troops to open fire in this “life-threatening situation”.

Elite troops from Shayetet 13, a naval commando unit, boarded the protest boats at around 4:00 A.M. Al Jazeera claimed Monday morning that the Gaza aid flotilla had changed course to avoid any trouble with the Israeli warships.

There were 700 pro-Palestinian activists on the boats, including 1976 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Mairead Corrigan Maguire of Northern Ireland, and European legislators. The boats were  officially carrying 10,000 tons of humanitarian aid and supplies to Gaza.

The flotilla would not turn around, so Israeli troops were prepared to board the ships to steer them away from the Gaza shores toward the Israeli port city of Ashdod.

One of the flotilla organizers, Huwaida Arraf,  said the convoy began the journey from international waters off the coast of Cyprus on Sunday afternoon, after two days of delays.  The flotilla had been expected to reach Gaza, about 400 kilometers away, on Monday afternoon, and two more ships had been expected to follow later.

After the raid, Israel’s top officials began the process of defending their actions.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu canceled his meeting with President Barack Obama to head back to Israel from North America, while the UN Security Council convened an emergency meeting in New York.

Israeli ambassadors around the world began explaining the incidents to their host governments.   The Foreign Ministry held a briefing with all foreign ambassadors in Israel.

There were protests against Israel in Jordan, Turkey, Beirut, Greece and Pakistan.

Activists clashed with police near the Israeli Embassy in Paris. Many in the throng shouted, “Israel, assassin!” and “We are all Palestinians,” while young people near the front tried to break through the police line to break into the Israeli Embassy.   There were protests in London also.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said:

I am shocked by reports of killing of people in boats carrying supply to Gaza. I heard the ships were in international waters. That is very bad.

 He called for a “thorough investigation.”

The European Union’s foreign affairs chief, Catherine Ashton,wants Israel to launch an investigation into the incident.  The holder of the EU presidency, Spain, said Israel’s storming of the flotilla was “unacceptable.”

Netanyahu spoke by telephone with Obama, and they agreed to reschedule their meeting at the first opportunity.  The White House was notably cautious and understated in their press release about the raid:

The president expressed deep regret at the loss of life in today’s incident, and concern for the wounded, many of whom are being treated in Israeli hospitals. The president also expressed the importance of learning all the facts and circumstances around this morning’s tragic events as soon as possible.

 Netanyahu strongly reaffirmed the policy of intercepting the flotilla and firmly backed the conduct of the IDF itself.

“I fully support the IDF action,” said Netanyahu. He  proceeded to explain to reporters, after a meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, that Israel needed to check the cargo that the flotilla was bringing to Gaza, to make sure that it did not contain any weapons.  They had already inspected 5 ships, but the sixth had not cooperated, said Netanyahu.

Meanwhile, President Barack Obama’s Memorial Day observance was stopped in its tracks Monday afternoon by a frog-choking downpour featuring bolts of lightning and booming thunder.

Obama’s pontificating was overruled by a Higher Court.

Obama had just enough time before the storm to quietly lay a wreath at another part of the cemetery, and then stood, his head bowed, as a bugler played “Taps.”

The president last year laid the traditional wreath on the tomb of The Unknown Soldier at Arlington Cemetary.  But this year he visited a cemetery about 50 miles southwest of Chicago, so that his Presidential duty would not interrupt the long holiday weekend at his private home with his wife and daughters.

Genesis 12:  1-3 (English Standard Version)

 ¹Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. ² And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. ³ I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

Sources:  jerusalempost.com, haaretz.com, drudgereport.com, yahoo.com, bible.com