Speaker

TC in

TC out

Text

Ambassador Ed Peck

00:00:25

00:00:46

43 years ago, the Six-day war broke out

And a US navy ship was in these waters

The Israelis attacked that ship. They killed and wounded over 200 American servicemen

The Israelis have learned that they can do pretty much whatever they want

Rifat Audeh

00:00:50

00:02:02

In 1967, Israel waged war against its Arab neighbours

illegally occupying the West Bank, seen behind me, and the Gaza Strip

During that war it attacked an American ship called the USS Liberty

and ever since the occupation of the Gaza Strip, it has prevented any maritime activity between Gaza and the outside world

This collective punishment on the people of Gaza increased dramatically in 2007

when Israel strengthened a blockade upon all of its borders

As a result, in 2010

the Freedom Flotilla attempted to break this blockade

and reach Gaza with humanitarian aid

However, the Israeli navy attacked the Flotilla in international waters

killing 10 activists and wounding dozens

Had this attack taken place in regional Gazan waters

it still would’ve contravened international law

Yet the film you are about to see isn’t about the illegality of this attack

but rather, it is about how the victims were transformed into villains

and how Israel acted with impunity once again

Voice Over[1] (by Rifat Audeh)

00:02:03

00:02:17

Israel’s blockade on the more than 1.5 million people of the Gaza Strip has caused enormous suffering

and has been characterized as a violation of international law by countless legal scholars and organizations

John Ging

UNRWA

00:02:19

00:02:46

The siege on Gaza has been in place now for over 2.5 years

Essentially, the siege restricts all items coming into Gaza

The situation at the moment is unbearable

Physically the place is a complete mess in terms of the infrastructure

There’s no economy: 80% of the population

are depending on handouts of food 

The medical facilities are under massive strain

The water and sanitation situation is deplorable

Voice Over (by Rifat Audeh)

00:02:52

00:03:10

Almost 1500 more Palestinians were killed in Israel’s attack

during December 2008-January 2009

The blockade has been condemned by human rights organizations worldwide

Mike Bailey

Oxfam International

00:03:18

00:03:40

This is collective punishment in a tin

The factory that made this closed down 18 months ago

when they ran out of the cans in Gaza they had in store

They have 2 million shekels worth of cans in Israel

but they’re not allowed to import them

John Ging

00:03:40

00:03:42

It’s illegal under international law

Voice Over (by Rifat Audeh)

00:03:42

00:03:57

There were previous successful attempts to break the blockade

both by land and by sea

However, the Freedom Flotilla of 2010 was the first large scale attempt by sea

involving hundreds of activists from dozens of countries

Voice Over (by Rifat Audeh)

00:03:58

00:04:04

My name is Rifat Audeh and I was aboard the Flotilla’s lead ship, the Mavi Marmara

Dimitris Plionis

Ship to Gaza - Greece

00:04:04

00:04:33

This mission I want to stress is an international mission

It has nothing to do with what Israel says, and the propaganda it says throughout the world

This cannot go into the 21st century

We cannot have such a situation of an open air prison in Gaza

1.5 million ppl not having water to drink

not having basic things, not having houses to live in

We are determined that we will go through

Mattias Gardell

Ship to Gaza – Sweden

00:04:33

00:04:50

This is unacceptable

If we have a global society that preaches not only human rights

But also the right of people to move, the global flow of things

You cannot erect these barriers, blocking the civilian population in Gaza from normal life

Caoimhe Butterly

Ireland

00:04:51

00:05:05

I think this flotilla has the potential to be both historical and deeply powerful

It is really a symbol of people power

of civil society and grassroots mobilization

in the face of the silence and complicity of our governments

Noorazman Shamsuddin

Malaysia

00:05:05

00:05:15

We’re coming to Istanbul to join the convoy, the flotilla convoy to Gaza

and we are representing a coalition of NGOs from Malaysia

Julie Jaroszewski

Belgium

(speaking in Spanish)

00:05:16

00:05:25

I’m an artist

For years I’ve been working in the theatre. We are trying to advance in changing the world

Noorazman Shamsuddin

00:05:26

00:05:31

Now we are going there to bring some fund for Gaza

Especially in the medical aspect

Cliff Hanley

UK

00:05:34

00:05:50

I’ve met some people in Gaza the last time I was there

artists like myself, I’m a professional artist

So I’m very interested in seeing what the artists of Gaza

have managed to do despite the bombing, or because of the bombing

Mattias Gardell

00:05:50

00:06:02

So it’s a grassroot organization. It’s financed by ordinary people

It’s ordinary working class women, men, elderly people, students

Archbishop Capucci

Syria

00:06:02

00:06:30

I’m happy to join this convoy

I’m happy because I’m the archbishop of Jerusalem, and an archbishop is a father

And I’ve been deprived from seeing my children for 32 years now

So ever since I emerged from prison I’ve been away from my children

So I’m happy to go to Gaza to hold my children in Gaza close to my heart

and through them every Palestinian in the occupied territories

Kenza Isnasni

Belgium

(speaking in French)

00:06:30

00:06:48

We’re very surprised to see the mobilization here in Turkey

It’s a popular mobilization, this is important

not a government or a state mobilization

It is not people behind a desk doing politics.

It is people mobilizing by themselves

Peter Venner

UK

00:06:53

00:06:59

I’m not afraid

I’m surprised to myself that I’m not

But I think that it’s high time that things are put right

Interviewer (off-screen)

00:07:00

00:07:01

Are you afraid?

Nurfitri Taher

Indonesia

00:07:01

00:07:06

No, I’m too excited to be afraid now

I don’t know later, but now I’m just too excited

Cliff Hanley

00:07:06

00:07:13

I wouldn’t say I’m afraid

I’m a little apprehensive... it’s only life

Interviewer (off-screen, in Spanish)

00:07:14

00:07:15

Are you afraid?

Julie Jaroszewski

00:07:15

00:07:16

Yes

Interviewer (off-screen, in Spanish)

00:07:16

00:07:17

Why?

Julie Jaroszewski (speaking in Spanish)

00:07:18

00:07:24

Because I have a family and I’m worried about my life personally and collectively

Interviewer (off-screen, in Spanish)

00:07:24

00:07:28

But you will still go on the flotilla?

Julie Jaroszewski

00:07:28

00:07:29

Yes

Interviewer (off-screen, in Spanish)

00:07:30

00:07:32

Thank you

Interviewer (off-screen)

00:07:33

00:07:34

Are you afraid?

Noorazman Shamsuddin

00:07:34

00:07:36

No, we are very determined

Mattias Gardell

00:07:37

00:07:59

Well, I’m surprised with the Israeli overreaction

Why are they considering a peaceful humanitarian mission to be a national security threat?

Hopefully Israel will rethink the matters and behave like a civilized and law-abiding nation

according to civilized standards

Voice Over (by Rifat Audeh)

00:07:59

00:08:24

After we were inspected and cleared by the Turkish authorities

We were on our way, and the atmosphere was jubilant

The other flotilla vessels were cleared by their countries of origin as well

We were to meet up in the Mediterranean with the other ships

Despite the fact that Israel was threatening us from even before we launched

our spirits remained high

People singing (in Arabic)

00:08:41

00:08:47

God's blessings upon Mohammed. God's blessings and peace upon him

Voice Over (by Rifat Audeh)

00:09:08

00:09:11

I was filming throughout the trip and documenting developments

Rifat Audeh

00:09:12

00:09:30

Apparently the news is that the Israelis have expanded their area of military operations and military training

It seems that the excuse that they’re going to try to use

is that we are entering into a military zone

and that is the excuse they would use for arresting us

Ken O’Keefe

Ireland

00:09:30

00:10:05

Having experienced with the Free Gaza Movement

I remember very very vividly that the Israelis were threatening to stop that mission

all the way up to the very moment that we left

They said we were nothing better than pirates and they would treat us as such

but there were a lot of people watching around the world

even though the West largely ignores it, there were millions of people watching in other regions of the world

and they ended up not stopping it

Now this has much larger scale

The Israelis are doing the same thing they did before Free Gaza

They are saying "this, that and the other" , speaking very loud words

but I don’t think they’re going to do that at all

Fatima Mohammadi

USA

00:10:05

00:10:14

There’s nothing they can do other than to let us through

Anything else they do will smear their already weak PR campaign against this kind of a flotilla

Ken O’Keefe

00:10:14

00:10:22

The bottom line is the Israelis, if they make a move on us, they’re going to hurt themselves more than they hurt us

and I firmly believe that we’re going to go right on straight through 

Voice Over (by Rifat Audeh)

00:10:22

00:10:41

Israel told the flotilla organizers to hand over our aid to them

and that they would supposedly deliver it to Gaza

Yet our goal was to break this illegal blockade and highlight it to the world

and not to appease the perpetrator

Naturally, this Israeli request was refused

Peter Venner

00:10:41

00:11:01

We have an absolute right in law to proceed direct to Gaza

We’re equipped to do it and we see no reason not to carry on straight on with it

It does seem to me that Israel is behaving more and more like a psychotic patient

in that they’re perhaps making what they see as a reasonable offer, in a world of their own imagining

It’s not the world we all live in

Voice Over (by Rifat Audeh)

00:11:01

00:11:08

On May 30th, Israel issued threats against us

As night fell, tensions started to rise

Dimitris Plionis

00:11:08

00:11:43

The ship is not under their authority

The people have boarded the ship as we and you saw through customs area

Our baggage was checked through x-rays and our passports were checked

And we are international passengers going to the area of Gaza, which is Palestine

Now Israel as an occupying force, does not have any right to stop us, or to board us

It would be a flagrant violation of international law

News reporter onboard (named Hasan Ghani)

00:11:43

00:11:51

We don’t really know what the Israelis are going to do. They have made very serious threats.

They said this convoy will not get through under any circumstances

News reporter onboard (named Jamal Shayyal)

00:11:51

00:12:13

This has led the organizers to issue life jackets to all the passengers on board

It also led them to redirect or re-route the vessels. They say they do not want

any form of a confrontation with the Israeli army, especially not by night

So they’ve redirected the route of these vessels, hoping they’d avoid such a confrontation

News reporter onboard (named Hasan Ghani)

00:12:13

00:12:36

The Israelis earlier today extended their exclusion zone from 20 miles to 68 miles

They have approached the convoy nonetheless, despite us being outside that exclusion zone

We can visually see one significantly large Israeli warship and there are 3 altogether on radar

I’m not sure whether this is an attempt to scare the convoy volunteers

or whether this is a serious threat at this stage

Dimitris Plionis

00:12:37

00:12:40

They are not pressing us, they are just coming close and closer

Sarah Colborne

UK

00:12:41

00:13:24

This is a message to the world. We are in international waters

We’re 80 miles off the coast of Gaza, yet Israeli warships are threatening us

There are 2 that we are aware of on the radar

They are cutting the satellite system on and off to try and prevent the world knowing what Israel is preparing to do

This is against international law

We are on a peaceful humanitarian mission delivering humanitarian aid to Gaza

We are calling on the world to take action to stop Israel from violating international law

Allow us to get through in peace to Gaza and stop threatening us

Stop cutting the satellite. Let the world know what is happening

Voice Over (by Rifat Audeh)

00:13:27

00:13:37

Indeed, one of our goals from even before our launch was to stay in constant communication with the rest of the world

through the equipment and media on board

Umit Sonmez

IHH

00:13:38

00:13:52

We don't want to face the Israeli military

but the threat of them attacking us is there

So if we do have to face them, it is important to be properly equipped

to be able to show the world what happens. The media will be very important at this point

Woman onboard

00:13:56

00:13:59

They have drones

News reporter onboard (named Jamal Shayyal)

00:14:03

00:14:11

We also saw some sort of aircraft. It’s not clear what type of aircraft

whether it was a helicopter or a drone in the distance

Dimitris Plionis

00:14:12

00:14:21

They are coming towards us. One is behind the “Defne”

and there are 3 coming this way and there is one farther away

Manuel Tapial

Spain (speaking in Spanish)

00:14:21

00:15:11

We think that is nonsense if they attack us during the night

because it can cause people to get killed which is something we don’t want. We are pacifists

And the panic that an army attack could cause amongst people in a boat like this could be fatal

We appealed through social networks and the Internet so that people persuade their politicians to be active

and that they spend the night with us and pay attention to what might happen

At the moment we are transmitting over satellite network. It’s also possible to follow us on the internet

and we think it necessary that the international community doesn’t sleep

And, if possible, tell their politicians that they have to act now, right at this moment, now!

Voice Over (by Rifat Audeh)

00:15:38

00:15:46

The Israelis attacked under the cover of darkness, while many of us were conducting our morning prayers

Voice Over (by Rifat Audeh)

00:18:04

00:18:13

I assisted in placing water hoses over the rails and spraying the Israeli soldiers with water

to deter them from boarding the ship

Voice Over (by Rifat Audeh)

00:18:19

00:18:22

They then came with helicopters

Voice Over (by Rifat Audeh)

00:19:21

00:19:25

I counted 8 commandos come down on ropes

Voice Over (by Rifat Audeh)

00:19:31

00:19:41

The laser dots of the Israeli soldiers and their weaponry can be seen searching for targets..

Man onboard

00:19:53

00:19:54

Get me some water!

News reporter onboard off-screen (speaking in Arabic)

00:19:54

00:20:13

There's an injured person on this deck. They are firing opposite to the camera

Yes, it's very dangerous. There is a number of injured people, maybe 10 or more

Voice Over (by Rifat Audeh)

00:20:32

00:20:38

Soon another helicopter was above me

and I counted 12-14 soldiers rappelling down

News reporter onboard (named Hasan Ghani)

00:21:07

00:21:27

We’ve had several injuries here, one is critical, he’s been injured in the head

We think he may die if he does not receive medical treatment immediately

Another person being taken in front of me right now has been seriously injured

We are being hit by tear gas, stun grenades. We have navy ships on either side and helicopters overhead

We are being attacked from every single side

News reporter onboard, off-screen (named Jamal Shayyal)

00:21:40

00:22:31

It’s now been confirmed that one person has been killed by the Israeli army

which has been using live munition on the civilians

The ships remain in international waters

yet the Israeli army together with the helicopters and naval ships have surrounded the ship

All phones have been jammed, making it impossible to contact the outside world

They have tried to dismantle the satellite we are broadcasting from, yet this remains operational

The organizers are telling me now that they are raising a white flag.

They are raising a white flag to the Israeli army

This is after one person has been killed, a civilian, who was killed

Despite the white flag being raised, the Israeli army is still shooting, still firing live munitions

News reporter onboard (speaking in Arabic)

00:22:35

00:23:07

They are trying to enter through here

Soldiers armed to the teeth are trying to enter through here

They descended onto the upper deck and then began moving to the lower ones

This has led to the injury of dozens including critical injuries

There is also a martyr now aboard this ship

Voice Over (by Rifat Audeh)

00:23:10

00:23:15

We tried to defend ourselves and protect our ship

Voice Over (by Rifat Audeh)

00:23:20

00:23:33

But in the end, it was metal bars and broomsticks….

…against guns and live ammunition..

Voice Over (by Rifat Audeh)

00:23:37

00:23:45

Despite this uneven battle,

the heroic men of the Mavi Marmara captured a number of commandos

White bearded man onboard

00:23:47

00:23:50

They hauled 2 soldiers down there bleeding and wounded

Voice Over (by Rifat Audeh)

00:23:51

00:24:05

Although the passengers had just witnessed the Israeli soldiers killing and wounding their family and friends

These commandos were protected, provided with medical care, and then released back to their unit

Male voice in loudspeaker (off-screen)

00:24:19

00:24:37

 “Peace be upon you, this is an important announcement, this is from the captain”

Please all the brothers go back to your cabin and sit on your seats. 

Stop your resistance

They are using live ammunition. We cannot protect ourselves

News reporter onboard (named Jamal Shayyal)

00:24:38

00:24:56

The organizers on board the Mavi Marmara- after two people have been confirmed killed by the Israeli army

have now asked all the passengers to go inside

They’ve raised the white flag

This after Israeli commandos descended upon the ship in international water

Male voice in loudspeaker (off-screen)

00:24:56

00:25:08

“Important announcement one more time:

 all the brothers on all the decks, we have lost the main control of the ship”

 “Please come down and take your seats, come down and take your seats”

Female voice in loudspeaker (off-screen)

00:25:11

00:25:35

Israeli navy! All the passengers are sitting down. We have no guns here.

We are civilians, taking care of injured people

Don’t use violence!

We need help for the people

Turkish journalist (speaking in Turkish to camera)

00:25:36

00:26:05

As far as we can see here, we have four martyrs, four people lost their lives

The number of martyrs might increase because we can’t reach many of our friends

Also on this deck there are about 20 wounded, 3 to 4 of them are badly hurt

Although we told the Israeli soldiers that the situation of the wounded is bad

they did not evacuate the wounded

Voice Over (by Rifat Audeh)

00:26:06

00:26:11

Despite Israel’s best efforts to cover up its crimes, it still could not

Umit Sonmez (in Turkish)

00:26:11

00:26:18

5 minutes after losing the main frequency, we switched on the contingency one

and continued our video contact

Recep Kose

IHH – Turkey (in Turkish)

00:26:20

00:26:28

They had a great technological weakness

because they couldn’t cut off the communication entirely

and they hadn’t found the contingency frequencies

Gulden Sonmez

IHH – Turkey (in Turkish)

00:26:28

00:26:43

We didn’t know if anyone in the world was watching the images or not

and we were worried

because when we switched over to the spare frequency

we didn’t know if the pictures would be sent at all

because our phone contact was also cut off

Voice Over (by Rifat Audeh)

00:26:43

00:26:53

In addition to these images broadcast,

the footage smuggled off the ship by the Cultures of Resistance Network

also exposed the lies of Israeli spokespersons

Lt. Col. Avital Leibovich

Israeli Army

00:26:54

00:27:04

We did not want to confront these kind of passengers. We had no reason to confront this organization

Voice Over (by Rifat Audeh)

00:27:06

00:27:35

Point “A” on this map shows where we were in international waters

when the Israeli military attacked us

Point “B” shows the approximate location of the USS Liberty, attacked by Israel in 1967

killing 34 American sailors on board and wounding more than 170

As can be clearly seen, when the Israelis attacked,

they had come out towards us more than 70 miles in international waters

Voice Over (by Rifat Audeh)

00:27:40

00:27:45

On the other hand, our position from well before our launch was very clear

Dimitris Plionis

00:27:45

00:27:59

We are peaceful, we do not carry arms. We are activists and humanitarian people

And we do not want to have any kind of a confrontation

but we will protect our ships with our bodies

Voice Over (by Rifat Audeh)

00:28:00

00:28:14

Also, the UN Human Rights Council Fact Finding Mission stated in Article 114 of its report

that live ammunition was used from the helicopter, prior to the descent of soldiers

Dr. Hamdi Osmanoglu

Turkey (in Turkish)

00:28:18

00:28:27

At the time, we concluded as doctors

that the Israelis aimed to kill

because the injuries of all the wounded

were at fatal positions of their bodies

Sheikh Raed Salah

Palestine (in Arabic)

00:28:27

00:28:44

The Israeli pirates did not come to control the Mavi Marmara

No, they came to kill,

and this is what the world must understand

Their goal was to kill

Voice Over (by Rifat Audeh)

00:28:45

00:28:53

Further, this video released by the Israeli army shows that a military operation

was authorized as early as May 13th

Video female speaker, off-screen

00:28:56

00:29:18

On May 12 the first General Staff operation was distributed and on the following day, May 13, the plan was authorized by the Chief of the General Staff

Preparation of IDF forces: The forces assigned to stop the Flotilla included

navy boats, helicopters with soldiers trained to rappel down ropes and surveillance aircraft

Dror Feiler

Sweden-Israel

00:29:19

00:29:35

What do you think a soldier is trained to do? A soldier is trained to kill

He’s not trained to stop demonstrations.

He’s not trained to deal with civilians or civil disobedience

He’s trained to kill, especially commandos. And they did their job; they killed

Huwaida Arraf

Palestine – Flotilla organizer

00:29:36

00:29:52

So when the Israelis started their attack, I went out on deck

and was able to see the initial attack on the Marmara

It was a full-on military assault on a civilian convoy

which honestly, all the times we had done this

and all the violence I’ve seen from the Israeli military

I had not expected this

Avital Leibovich

00:29:59

00:30:09

When you saw the footage of the soldiers coming down the rope of the helicopters

They didn’t need to target anyone, they didn’t open fire

They tried to come down to the ship, & politely approach the captain

CNN interviewer

00:30:10

00:30:22

I’m sorry I don’t understand how in a pre-dawn raid,

when you are being lowered by helicopters

You are politely requesting to talk with the captain?!

That is an aggressive act, and it happened in international waters

Voice Over (by Rifat Audeh)

00:30:23

00:30:37

Israel utilized numerous propaganda tactics against the flotilla, or rather talking points, that they distributed to their spokespeople

The first propaganda tactic was to assassinate the characters of the dead

Mark Regev

Israeli government spokesperson

00:30:37

00:30:42

The hardcore extremists on the boat- as your previous piece showed, used violence

Benjamin Netanyahu

Israeli Prime Minister

00:30:43

00:30:49

These weren’t pacifists, they weren’t peace activists. These were violent supporters of terrorism

Michael Oren

Israeli Ambassador to the USA  

00:30:49

00:30:56

People on this particular boat were 70 hired thugs from a radical Islamic organization

that had sworn to destroy Israel

TV interviewer

00:30:56

00:30:58

But were the children and women also thugs?

Michael Oren

00:30:58

00:31:00

They were not killed

Voice Over (by Rifat Audeh)

00:31:00

00:31:30

The youngest martyr was 19 year old Furkan Dogan who was also an American citizen

Furkan Dogan, who had 2 siblings, wanted to become a doctor

Yet this would not be the first time that America would allow Israel to act with impunity

after killing one of its citizens

In addition to the 34 Americans killed by Israel aboard the USS Liberty in 1967

Rachel Corrie was deliberately crushed to death by an Israeli bulldozer driver in 2003

Rachel Corrie

00:31:31

00:31:35

It’s ridiculous that my government supports this government

Voice Over (by Rifat Audeh)

00:31:36

00:31:57

The oldest martyr, at 61 years, was Ibrahim Bilgen

He was an electrical engineer from the city of Siirt and grew up as an orphan himself

He was married and was the father of 6 children

He established the first local TV station in his city and was well-known in his community

Voice Over (by Rifat Audeh)

00:32:03

00:32:18

Ali Haydar Bengi, a tradesman, was 39 years old. He was married and had 4 children

He established The Foundation of Rights and Freedoms for a Bright Future,

an educational and cultural association, and was its president

Voice Over (by Rifat Audeh)

00:32:22

00:33:42

Fakhri Yaldiz was a firefighter and also had a small pastry shop

He was 43 years old and married, with 4 children

41 year old Cengiz Akyuz was a craftsman in plasterwork

He was married and had 3 children

Nejdet Yildrim was the second youngest martyr at 32 years old

He was a humanitarian aid worker, married and had a 3 year old daughter

Cetin Topcuoglu, a retired civil servant and former taekwondo champion, used to coach various athletic teams

He was volunteering at the Adana Humanitarian Relief Foundation and the orphan support unit

He was 54 and married, with one son

Cengiz Songur, who was 47, was married and had 7 children. He was a shopkeeper

Cevdet Kiliclar, aged 38, was originally a journalist and then an aid worker

He was married with 2 children

47 year old Ugur Soylemez, a businessman, was married and had 3 children

Voice Over (by Rifat Audeh)

00:33:49

00:33:55

The IHH organization, or “eee-ha-ha” as it is known in Turkey, was also slandered by Israel

Danny Ayalon

Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister

00:33:56

00:34:01

The organizers are well known for their ties to global jihad, Al-Qaeda…

Mark Regev

00:34:01

00:34:08

There was a provocation by extremists belonging to a Turkish extremist Islamic organization called IHH

Avital Leibovich

00:34:08

00:34:12

And on the Mavi Marmara, there was no humanitarian aid, just extremists

Adam Shapiro

USA – Flotilla organizer

00:34:14

00:35:01

The Turkish charity operates openly in Turkey, the Turkish government allows it to operate openly

The Turkish government would not encourage or allow

a Turkish organization that is affiliated with Al-Qaeda in any way to participate

I have significant doubts about the veracity of these reports, of the intelligence that is being put out there

The source of them often come from Israel although they cite unnamed sources in other countries

The Turkish organization IHH was most recently active in Haiti, helping with the earthquake relief in Haiti

working alongside American and European agencies providing humanitarian assistance for the victims of Haiti

I don’t think that American and European agencies would be working hand-in-hand

with this Turkish organization if there were links to Al-Qaeda

I think this is part of the Israeli spin and propaganda that they’re putting out there

Alexandra Lort Philips

UK

00:35:02

00:35:23

I had great confidence in IHH because I researched their background as an organization

and they work in humanitarian field in 127 countries

in looking after sanitation, education, psycho-social support, orphan sponsorship programs

Zion Evrony

Israeli Ambassador to Ireland

00:35:29

00:35:42

The Israeli forces were met with a violent attack including live ammunition and knives

and trying to grab their weapons and they were forced to use live ammunition to defend themselves

Michael Oren

00:35:43

00:35:48

As for the use of force, our soldiers had no choice but to defend themselves

Mark Regev

00:35:48

00:35:54

Our servicemen were under a very real threat, a very present threat, a threat to their lives

And under such circumstances they are entitled to defend themselves

Voice Over (by Rifat Audeh)

00:35:57

00:36:04

Numerous sections in the UNHRC report state that there was no threat to the Israeli soldiers

Avital Leibovich

00:36:05

00:36:18

Umm…the first soldier I told you was beaten

the second and third were already shot

How were they shot? The pistols of the soldiers were taken from them

2 pistols, they opened fire and uhh…they shot the soldiers

Avital Leibovich

00:36:18

00:36:24

They grabbed some pistols of the..of the…uh…soldiers

…and they emptied the magazines of the pistols

Avital Leibovich

00:36:24

00:36:43

We found some interesting things on board the Mavi Marmara

For example, we found shells, empty shells, shells that were fired

but these are bullets that the IDF does not use

So one of the assumptions that we’re looking into

is that they used some kind of guns or heavy weapons and threw them to the sea

Voice Over (by Rifat Audeh)

00:36:44

00:36:57

Unsurprisingly, the same UNHRC report calls the statements of Israeli officials

inconsistent and contradictory

regarding alleged firearms injuries to Israeli soldiers

Voice Over (by Rifat Audeh)

00:36:58

00:37:04

Cevdet Kiliclar is seen here coming up the stairs in a well-lit area and holding only a camera

Voice Over (by Rifat Audeh)

00:37:19

00:37:24

Israeli commandos from the deck above shot him dead between the eyes

Voice Over (by Rifat Audeh)

00:37:24

00:37:33

Cetin Topcuoglu, whose wife was also on the ship,

kept going up the stairs and risking his own life, to evacuate the wounded

Voice Over (by Rifat Audeh)

00:37:37

00:37:42

The autopsy report shows that he too was shot from above in the head

Voice Over (by Rifat Audeh)

00:37:43

00:37:51

Cengiz Songur was shot from above as well

He’s seen here giving instructions to fellow passengers..on how to use a gas mask

Voice Over (by Rifat Audeh)

00:37:57

00:38:01

Anas Nairoukh was near Cengiz when he fell

Anas Nairoukh

Jordan

00:38:01

00:38:55

There was a Turkish brother next to me named Cengiz Songur

During the attack, I was surprised as he fell in front of me

It was a bullet

Actually I didn’t expect this, but when I tried to carry him

and I asked for the help of others from Jordan and Turkey to carry him

I saw that indeed it was a bullet wound

I thought at first it was from the sea,

but then I realized it came from above

He was just 1 meter away, and the shot was here

So me and my colleagues also, did not think that there would be actual killing

So I carried him inside, and started screaming: Where’s the doctor?

Anas Nairoukh (heard during event and slightly seen on screen)

00:38:56

00:39:01

Where’s the doctor?! THE DOCTOR, WHERE IS HE??!!

Anas Nairoukh

00:39:02

00:39:15

During this attack, there were Israeli soldiers of course on the upper deck

and unfortunately there were liquidations of the wounded

So the martyr Furkan was liquidated while he was injured

Voice Over (by Rifat Audeh)

00:39:15

00:39:38

Furkan Dogan was filming the entire trip,

and was actually filming at the time he was killed on the top deck

Most of his entry wounds were on the back of his body

Based on eyewitness testimony, this apparently was Furkan’s execution

The soldiers seem to be looking down at the ground and kicking someone

Voice Over (by Rifat Audeh)

00:39:41

00:39:46

The soldier then loads his weapon, aims it downward and fires

Voice Over (by Rifat Audeh)

00:39:52

00:39:56

Forensic evidence indicates this shot was in the face

Voice Over (by Rifat Audeh)

00:40:00

00:40:03

They then seem to kick him again

Off-screen male voice

00:40:10

00:40:11

Peace be upon you.

Furkan Dogan

00:40:11

00:40:13

And upon you

Voice Over (by Rifat Audeh)

00:40:13

00:41:30

Eyewitnesses stated that Israeli soldiers also shot Ali Haydar Bengi at close range

while he lay wounded on deck

Per the UNHRC report, Ibrahim Bilgen’s wounds

were consistent as initially being shot from the helicopter,

and then shot again while lying wounded

Nejdet Yildrim was shot twice, including once in the back

Fakhri Yaldiz was shot numerous times in the chest and legs

Ugur Soylemez was shot in the head

He went into a coma and died 4 years later

The autopsy report of Cengiz Akyuz shows he was shot fatally in the back

I was able to visit the ship 1 year after the attack and retrace my steps

Israeli soldiers appeared on the deck above as shown, and started firing at us

I was hit with a plastic bullet, and jumped back to be protected by the roof

The soldiers restrained and blindfolded me here, and inspected my pockets

They asked me one question only “Where is your mobile phone?”

It is clear they wanted to control the narrative in front of the rest of the world right from the start

Benjamin Netanyahu

00:41:31

00:41:40

I talked to some of these soldiers

One was shot in the stomach, one was shot in the knee

They were going to be killed

Ken O’Keefe

00:41:41

00:43:13

Of course there was never any plan to kill anyone, not anyone

No one, not the Israelis, nobody

We’re not the killers and we must keep ourselves in a high moral ground

We can defend ourselves, we can defend the ship

We may have to use non-lethal force to subdue these soldiers, but we must not kill them

So I was able to control myself and clearly everybody else controlled themselves as well

The whole objective was to disarm him, that’s it, to disarm him

By that point I had already seen one dead body

We were successful in subduing him and I took the pistol off of him

What I think is really important, and the world must know this

is that there were three Israeli soldiers, three Israeli commandos

We had totally disarmed them, we had brought them to the interior of the ship

I believe basic first aid was provided to some of them

But what’s most important of all is that we had complete control over them

These Israeli commandos were no threat to us any longer

They had at least 100 brothers surrounding them inside the ship

No commandos around; they were completely at our mercy

I looked into the eyes of all three of these soldiers

And they definitely had the fear of God in them

I think they looked at us, like we were them

Anas Nairoukh

00:43:13

00:43:58

In our religion, we respect prisoners,

so it is not allowed to beat or insult them

I remember some prisoners were screaming

They were in a pathetic state

They were expecting to be killed

They were hysterical

So I was very close to them

and I actually had some thoughts of hitting them

But I remembered that our religion tells us to respect our prisoners

So I even protected them, and told everyone

that these are prisoners, not to be harmed

Ken O’Keefe

00:43:58

00:44:10

There was a lot of anger with dead bodies and injured people all over

on a humanitarian mission

and the Israelis were completely at our control, and the decision was made to let them go

Anas Nairoukh

00:44:10

00:44:14

There was a doctor who handed them back

Ken O’Keefe

00:44:14

00:44:25

I believe one of our brothers was shot while putting the Israelis out on the bow of the ship..

..so they could be returned to their comrades, who were still attacking

Anas Nairoukh

00:44:25

00:44:38

Unfortunately, the soldiers met this charitable act with abuse

and they fired at the doctor who was handing over the prisoners

Voice Over (by Rifat Audeh)

00:44:38

00:44:48

Additionally, although the loading of the ships’ cargo was done out in the open

Israel tried to mislead the world hinting that this humanitarian aid was supposedly weaponry

Benjamin Netanyahu

00:44:49

00:44:55

Israel simply cannot permit the free flow of weapons and war materials to “Hamas” from the sea

Video female speaker, off-screen

00:44:55

00:45:12

(Army video: ) In the beginning of February 2010, initial information was received regarding a protest flotilla scheduled to sail in May, aimed allegedly to break the closure on the Gaza Strip

Continuous intelligence surveillance of the ships was carried out

White bearded man onboard

00:45:15

00:45:33

They got pictures of us on Challenger 2

It came from the Israelis

All the members of Challenger 2 on the Israelis

Different ships, who’s on them…

…who to concentrate on…

Video female speaker, off-screen

00:45:33

00:45:47

(Army video: ) During the month of May 2010,

8 ships sailed from Ireland, Turkey and Greece

The ships didn’t dock at any ports along the way

and sailed directly to a designated meeting point south of Cyprus

Voice Over (by Rifat Audeh)

00:45:48

00:46:15

If the Israelis had us under surveillance since February 2010

And they knew that we didn’t dock at any other ports

Then they clearly knew that our cargo was humanitarian goods,

that we were inspected, x-rayed and cleared by the Turkish and other authorities

and that there was no way weapons could have gotten onto the ship,

since we didn’t dock anywhere else

Voice Over (by Rifat Audeh)

00:46:22

00:46:49

The fourth tactic was to make the claim that since nobody was killed on the other ships, the “Muslim extremists” aboard the Mavi Marmara must have been the problem

This is perhaps the most diabolic of the Israeli claims and propaganda techniques,

because this actually indicates that lethal force was planned for the Mavi Marmara well in advance, with the justification prepared for these upcoming killings as well

Avital Leibovich

00:46:49

00:46:53

In 5 out of the 6 boats we had no problem

Zion Evrony

00:46:53

00:46:59

5 ships were peacefully directed toward (port) Ashdod

Mark Regev

00:47:00

00:47:11

There were 6 interceptions yesterday, all done by the Israeli navy

5 of them were done peacefully without violence without harm to anyone

Michael Oren

00:47:12

00:47:18

5 of the 6 ships in this flotilla were all taken without incident, without any casualties whatsoever

Voice Over (by Rifat Audeh)

00:47:19

00:47:43

While there were no fatalities on the other ships,

the Israelis who had blocked the satellite signal, the phones

and confiscated all our footage till this day to cover up their crimes,

were still not able to prevent the passengers from smuggling out some footage comprising this documentary

This was from a camera that continued to roll aboard the Sfendoni ship

Israeli soldier, off-screen

00:47:43

00:47:49

Move!

Stop the fucking ship!

Male passenger, off-screen

00:47:59

00:48:03

You attack our boats

Male passenger, off-screen

00:48:11

00:48:15

Fascista!

Male passenger, off-screen

00:48:33

00:48:36

Shame on you

Female passenger, off-screen

00:48:52

00:48:55

Stop! Stop!

Female passenger, off-screen

00:48:57

00:49:00

You are pirates

Israeli soldier, off-screen 

00:49:01

00:49:03

Stop the ship

Voice Over (by Rifat Audeh)

00:49:04

00:49:09

Paul Larudee, the second from the right, was aboard the Sfendoni when it was attacked

Paul Larudee

USA – Flotilla organizer

00:49:09

00:49:23

Everyone knows what happened on the Mavi Marmara,

what happened on the other ships is perhaps less well-known

I was not on the Mavi Marmara itself

I was on another boat, the Sfendoni, which left from Greece

Voice Over (by Rifat Audeh)

00:49:24

00:49:27

Huwaida Arraf was aboard another vessel called the Challenger

Huwaida Arraf

00:49:28

00:49:35

They surrounded our ship. They threw concussion grenades on our boat, used tasers and then boarded

Paul Larudee

00:49:35

00:49:45

They beat us

One person had a broken bone that I know of. I don’t know of any others that did

But there was blood shed

Huwaida Arraf

00:49:45

00:49:52

They beat many of us. A volunteer ended up with a bloody face.

My head was smashed against the deck of the boat

Paul Larudee

00:49:52

00:50:06

The first beating I got was on the boat,

the second beating was when I was pulled out of the water, the third one was in the port

Benjamin Netanyahu

00:50:10

00:50:12

531

00:50:10,080 --> 00:50:12,920

They chanted battle cries against the Jews

Michael Oren

00:50:13

00:50:19

The participants on that ship, before boarding that ship

chanted “death to the Jews, death to the Jews”

Benjamin Netanyahu

00:50:19

00:50:24

This wasn’t a love boat, this was a hate boat

Rifat Audeh

00:50:25

00:50:34

Our point is, is that we are all brothers and sisters,

whatever our religion, whatever our ethnicity and whatever our culture

Male passenger using loudspeaker

00:50:34

00:50:53

Gaza will also liberate the Jews from the illusions of Zionism

This is because Zionists have effectively imprisoned the Jews

and have made them believe illusions that bring them disaster

Rifat Audeh

00:50:53

00:51:21

We are all here with one goal in mind and we are all brothers and sisters in humanity

Ever since the days of our Prophet Mohammed may peace be upon him

He made sure that everybody –whatever their culture or religion was – were treated equally and treated humanely

And everybody was treated as one family, and this is what we want to achieve here and hope to achieve here

Archbishop Capucci

00:51:22

00:51:33

We are against Zionism

We are not against Judaism and not against Jews

Judaism is a religion that we respect and the Jews are dear brothers to us

We are against Zionism!

Voice Over (by Rifat Audeh)

00:51:33

00:51:42

For anyone paying attention, Israeli actions were consistent

with what was leaked and declared in the media, before and after the attack

Avigdor Lieberman

Israeli Foreign Minister

00:51:46

00:51:53

I think that we’re ready

at any cost as I mentioned

to prevent this provocation

Michael Oren

00:51:53

00:52:04

“The particular ship where the violent incident did occur was simply too large to stop by non-violent means” National Public Radio, June 2, 2010

Voice Over (by Rifat Audeh)

00:52:04

00:52:09

But many Western media outlets fully supported the Israeli narrative

Male TV anchor1

00:52:09

00:52:18

And it sounds like Netanyahu on this point is right

These guys were going to be killed on that ship

So what does the international community expect these soldiers to do in this situation?

Male TV anchor2

00:52:19

00:52:24

Certainly, the Israeli army has video that shows their soldiers were being attacked

BBC female interviewer

00:52:24

00:52:33

What is clear from those videos and there are videos available as well,

where you can see somebody,

and it would appear to be the first soldier, as soon as he lands, he is being beaten

Female TV anchor

00:52:33

00:52:40

What do you see in the video though?

You said it was a peaceful situation but obviously they had weapons..

Ed Peck

00:52:40

00:52:44

They had deck chairs, a deck chair is not a weapon

Female TV anchor

00:52:44

00:52:50

But in the video we just saw, there were pipes or stick that they were hitting the soldiers with

BBC female interviewer

00:52:51

00:52:58

The Israeli government, their first job is to defend their citizens

They are trying to defend their right to exist

Voice Over (by Rifat Audeh)

00:52:59

00:53:20

The Israeli Foreign Ministry was so happy with BBC’s coverage of the attack on its Panorama program,

that it posted a BBC iPlayer link to it on its website,

and even added a Youtube link for site visitors unable to access the BBC iPlayer

So what was the Israeli attitude after all of this?

Michael Oren

00:53:20

00:53:28

There is nothing remotely illegal about that

Perfectly legal, perfectly humane, and very responsible for the state of Israel to do such a thing

Elderly Israeli male demonstrator

00:53:35

00:53:42

Erdogan…a Turkish anti-Semite

..and a Jew hater

and a..

and a terrorist

Younger Israeli male demonstrator standing

00:53:42

00:53:50

I’m very happy for what happened, because it united the country

All the Israelis, all the Jews now united for a cause

Israeli male on motorcycle

00:53:51

00:53:56

I don’t speak English, but Turkey, fuck off, you speak bullshit

Interviewer in Tel Aviv, off-screen

00:53:56

00:53:58

Do you have a message for the Turkish people?

Israeli female demonstrator

00:53:58

00:54:00

Yeah, go to hell

TV interviewer Jon Snow

00:54:00

00:54:02

So are you going to apologize to them?

Mark Regev

00:54:03

00:54:04

For what?

Benjamin Netanyahu

00:54:04

00:54:06

We will never apologize for defending ourselves

Giora Eiland

Head of Israeli inquiry

00:54:07

00:54:10

I don’t think that the force was excessive

Voice Over (by Rifat Audeh)

00:54:12

00:54:21

After the 2010 Freedom Flotilla,

Israel unleashed its military machine on the people of Gaza

in 2012

Voice Over (by Rifat Audeh)

00:54:24

00:54:33

and again in 2014

killing more than 2300 Palestinians,

the vast majority civilians, including hundreds of children

Voice Over (by Rifat Audeh)

00:54:37

00:54:45

All subsequent attempts to break the blockade by sea were stopped,

with Israel arresting the activists aboard the vessels