The Mavi Marmara, carrying 500 supporters and $20 million in humanitarian aid, began its journey from İstanbul to Gaza on May 22 in a show of solidarity with the Palestinian people and in a bid to break Israel’s years-long blockade of the Gaza Strip. However, the ship was stormed by Israel forces early Monday morning with marines boarding from dinghies and rappelling from helicopters. At least nine peace activists were killed and dozens were injured during the attack.

"Israel carefully chose to attack the relief ship from Turkey over the the other 5 ships in the flotilla. Turkey’s prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has repeatedly condemned Israel’s attacks inside Gaza in January, 2009 ... and he publicly embarrassed Shimon Peres at Davos in February: 'When it comes to killing, you know very well how to kill.'" - Les Blough

Following Turkey’s ultimatum to Israel, hundreds of activists deported from Israel returned to a hero’s welcome in Turkey early on Thursday. Recai Kaya, who was on board the Mavi Marmara, said on Thursday that Israel forces attacked them brutally and handcuffed the peace activists while saying “one minute” to try and humiliate them, referring to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s walkout in Davos.

During a panel discussion on Gaza at the World Economic Forum (WEF) held in Davos on Jan. 29, 2009, Erdoğan -- who has so far not hesitated to voice his anger and feelings of offense over the disproportionate use of force by Israel leading to the deaths of hundreds of civilians -- walked off the stage in protest of a moderator who did not allow him to speak in response to Israeli President Shimon Peres, who made remarks supporting the Israeli offensive in Gaza.

“Israel took revenge on Erdoğan’s Davos walkout by hurting us,” Kaya pointed out. Kaya noted that when some people asked for permission to go to the restroom, Israeli troops deliberately made them wait for nearly 24 hours. “Despite the brutal treatment by the Israeli troops, everybody was determined not to back down. Our only regret is that the humanitarian aid could not reach Gaza.” Kaya called on the government to help them get the aid to its destination.

We think of our loved ones rather than ourselves, activists say

Yücel Velioğlu, a reporter from the Anatolia news agency who was on board the Mavi Marmara when it was raided, described the aftermath of the attack from outside the Forensic Medicine Institution in İstanbul on Thursday. Velioğlu said the most violence had occurred on their ship and that their hands had been tied by the Israeli commandos. Velioğlu also stated that when the ship was being towed to the Israeli port of Ashdod, they thought they wouldn’t get back to Turkey alive because there were many supporters of Israel at the port. “My wife is pregnant. We couldn’t contact our loved ones because Israel imposed a media blackout. We thought of our loved ones who we had left in Turkey rather than ourselves despite our brutal treatment,” said Velioğlu.

More than 500 activists who were brought to Turkey were examined on Thursday by 120 forensic medicine experts and their assistants.

Al-Jazeera cameraman: Israelis  suffer from ‘fracture wounds’

Al-Jazeera television cameraman Andre Abu Khalil, who was also on the Mavi Marmara, said that after the initial Israeli assault on the vessel, four Israeli troops, suffering from “fracture wounds,” were held below deck by the activists. He said other commandos, trying to scale the ship, opened fire to break up a human chain of about 20 Turkish men, who were using slingshots, water hoses and metal pipes to try to hold off the boarding party.

Abu Khalil said the line disintegrated after the troops shot one of the men in the neck and another in the head. In all, the cameraman counted 40 wounded passengers, many with bullet wounds to the legs, apparently to disable them. Others were shot in the eyes, stomach and chest. On the lower deck, Abu Khalil said, someone using a loudspeaker told the Israelis: “Your soldiers are fine, and they’ll be released if you provide us with medical help for the wounded.” An Israeli-Arab legislator who participated in the flotilla acted as a mediator. She raised a white flag and wrote in Hebrew on a piece of cardboard, according to the cameraman.

“Israel commandos had various types of handguns. I was shot. Two Israeli doctors tried to remove the bullets from my body with pincers. It was a kind of torture. My mind is in turmoil,” said Musa Çoğaş, one of the peace activists.

Other activists Edda Manga, Mattias Gardell and Dror Feiler also described the aftermath of the commando attack. Around 15 ships belonging to Israel surrounded the Mavi Marmara to frighten the peace activists on board. They also added that Israeli forces deliberately shot two people in the forehead.

Israeli troops open fire one meter away

Mustafa Bakırhan, who is one of the injured peace activists, noted that Israeli commandos opened fire one meter away. “While blood was flowing out of my body, they [Israeli troops] continue to damage me. Regardless of my health situation, they handcuffed me,” said Bakırhan to express his feelings in the aftermath of Israel’s attack on the ship. Bakırhan underlined that when the Mavi Marmara was around the Mediterranean island of Cyprus, they were being followed by foreign ship, referring to Israel’s preparation for attack on the ship. “We saw Israel’s boats at 12 p.m., but they attacked us at 4 a.m., early morning Monday. Is their aim not obvious? They wanted the world not to be informed about their attack. They attacked to us without any warning. Even though 50 people tried to prevent Israeli troops from attacking people, they were determined to continue their torture. They opened fire on me one meter away.

Source: Today's Zamin