The attack on a civilian flotilla with reports of 10 or more dead has meant that news is now front page. Daily atrocities in Palestinian territories are routinely ignored and the Israeli government gets away with flouting international law. The attack on one of 7 international ships carrying emergency aid to Gaza took place in international waters so amounts to an act of piracy. The press is waking up, but will governments?
All Jazeera report.
Palestinian News Network (PNN) report.
Jerusalem Post report
Haaretz report
The response of the Israeli government is that the flotilla included those with “terrorist” connections and that the boarding party of the IDF was met with both firearms and other assorted weaponry. This is most vividly laid out in the report from Haaretz which also publishes a range of other articles, one saying that Israel had lost the media battle before the flotilla had even set out. Al Jazeera reports that a number of European countries, including Greece and Spain, have called in their Israeli ambassadors.
The following is a response from the Palestinian territories:
Call for demonstrations in all countries in the world against Israeli embassies the People’s Committees in Palestine call you to demonstrations of anger against Israeli terrorism and criminality. Let the third International intifada uprising Against terrorism and the occupation..
Israeli criminal navy attacks humanitarian ships in International waters.
Reports of 10-16 humanitarian activists killed and 50-60 injured. The
Israeli army had tried to make the media maneuver of saying they would
arrest and take the boats when they enter Gaza coastal waters and tow the
boats to port in Asdod (renamed Ashdod after the occupation of 1948) and had
prepared tens to house the arrestees at that southern port. Instead the
Israeli army decided to execute a surprise maneuver and attack the boats at
night and in the north near Cyprus in International waters and then board
the boats and take them to the northern port of Haifa. In doing so they
committed a massacre of unarmed civilians to add to the hundreds of
massacres committed before but this time they have really gone way too far
and alienated the international community with this horrendous crime.
Time to demonstrate everywhere and write to all you know and all you do not
know (media, politicians etc). Organize your own event (in front of Israeli
missions abroad, in front of government buildings, in public squares etc) or
join any of the planned emergency demonstrations
Iyad Burnat
The head of the Popular committee, Bil’in

ISRAELIS KILL 10 STORMING GAZA FLOTILLA
EMERGENCY DEMONSTRATION TODAY
MONDAY 31 MAY 2.00PM DOWNING STREET LONDON
SPREAD THE WORD
Yet another act of Israeli barbarism as its forces storm one of the seven ships
on the international flotilla taking aid to Gaza, where Israel’s illegal seige
is starving Palestinians of essential resources. At least ten activists on
board have been killed by Israeli forces.
Please join the emergency demonstration today if you can. Publicise it as
widely as possible.
See video of Israeli assault from Turkish televison: http://bit.ly/aKExFf
For updates see: http://bit.ly/bg5gIu
CONTACT FOREIGN SECRETARY WILLIAM HAGUE & YOUR MP
PROTEST TO FOREIGN SECRETARY WILLIAM HAGUE:
msu.correspondence@fco.gov.uk AND/OR
private.office@fco.gov.uk AND MSU.PublicIn@fco.gov.uk
LETTER TO:
William Hague MP, Foreign Secretary, King Charles Street, London,
SW1A 2AH
CONTACT YOUR MP: http://findyourmp.parliament.uk
Ask him/her to contact Hague on your behalf
CONTACT DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER NICK CLEGG
LETTER TO: Nick Clegg MP, House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA