The
Truth: Lost at Sea
Original dialogue transcript – 57’
version
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 |
|
|
|
|
[1] The text for Voice
Over is in italics throughout this document. Also, wherever a speaker is
described as being “off-screen”,
that speaker’s corresponding text is also in italics. “Off-screen” was
considered as being wherever the speaker’s image does not appear at all, only
the speaker’s voice.