All parliamentary decorum was lost in the Israeli Knesset as Haneen Zoabi strode to the podium to address the membership. Zoabi had been on the Mavi Marmara when elite Israeli commandos landed on the flotilla flagship from helicopers. In an earlier press conference in Nazareth following her release, Zoabi intimated that the Israeli government wanted to cause casualties during their interception of the humanitarian aid convoy: “Israel had days to plan this military operation…They wanted many deaths to terrorize us and to send a message that no future convoys should try to break the siege of Gaza.” (quoted by Jonathan Cook, Global Research, June 3, 2010)
Knesset Response to Zoabi’s Statements
According to the Jerusalem Post (June 3), Knesset members heckled Zoabi, called her a traitor and a terrorist, and stopped her from concluding her remarks. At least two bills were submitted for consideration and debate that would allow the removal of any member that was “found to have committed incitement against the State of Israel.” A separate request was filed by Deputy Knesset Speaker Carmel Shama to “block Zoabi from being able to run in any future Knesset election.”
Zoabi’s address declared that the blockade of Gaza was immoral. She also defended her participation in the flotilla. According to Zoabi, there is a “political, human, and moral imperative to oppose the imprisonment of 1.5 million people.” The Israeli government, however, viewed the flotilla very differently. Any compromise on the blockade of Gaza could result in shipments of rockets or other war contraband that would enable Hamas to attack Israeli citizens and its cities.
Eye Witness Accounts of Israeli Actions on May 31, 2010
The flotilla carried numerous journalists, photographers, and other VIPs aligned to the cause of the Palestinian people. Ironically, one of those on board was American Joe Meadors, who served on the USS Liberty when it was attacked by Israeli forces during the Six Day War. Some commentators are comparing the flotilla attack to that event of June 8, 1967.
Witness statements coming from those deported from Israel confirm Ms. Zoabi’s observations. The Turkish daily, Hurriyet (June 3, 2010), quoted journalist Paul McGeough of the Sydney Morning Herald comparing the Israeli boats to “hyenas hunting animals in the night.” Swedish historian Mattias Gardell was quoted saying, “We were witnesses to premeditated murders.” Al-Jazeerah (June 2) quoted a flotilla passenger that saw two men bound together by Israeli soldiers and thrown into the sea. These accounts confirm MK Zoabi’s statements at her Nazareth news conference: “There were deaths within minutes. The aim was to create an atmosphere of terror.”
The Scale of the Israeli Operation
Israel’s interception of the flotilla was well planned and aimed at sending a very clear message. Any attempt to break the blockage of the Gaza Strip would be thwarted. This is consistent with Prime Minister Netanyahu’s national security measures. Netanyahu stated that “If the blockade had been broken, it would have been followed by dozens, hundreds of boats…Each boat could carry dozens of missiles.” (quoted in Huffington Post, June 2, 2010)
Thus, Netanyahu offers an answer to the issue of proportionality, a subject raised by German Chancellor Angela Merkel: “Proportionality is an important international requirement….we must seriously ask whether it was adhered to.” (Jerusalem Post, June 1, 2010) Netanyahu stated that this was no “love boat” but a boat of hate.
Telling the True Story of Israeli Actions
Haneen Zoabi was able to tell her story to the press and to the members of the Israeli Knesset because of her parliamentary immunity. After the protests against Israel, most notably in Turkey, and the burial of the dead, the true story of the ordeal of May 31, 2010 will be told by the 700-odd passengers that were there.
Additionally, outside inquiries will attempt to discover what really happened. According to the BBC News, the United Nations Human Rights Council voted to “set up an independent international inquiry…” (June 3, 2010) Significantly, no such action has been taken by the United States despite the death of an American citizen during the Israeli attack and the presence of several American citizens, some of them with distinguished service records.
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