Alkarama has received preliminary information that several individuals have died and others have been wounded aboard one of the ships belonging to the "Freedom Flotilla", the Turkish MV Mavi Marmara. Israeli Defense Forces boarded the ship at 4am on 31 May 2010, while the ship was still in international waters, en route to the port of Gaza on a humanitarian aid mission. Initial information indicates that 18 people were killed in the attacked and several more wounded. The Israeli navy has setup a naval blockade on the shores of Gaza which prevents any non-Israeli ships from entering the port, while also controlling the port of Ashdod in southern Israel.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, has condemned the attacks, and said on Monday during the opening of the 14th session of the U.N. Human Rights Coucil , "I am also registering my shock at reports that humanitarian aid was met with violence early this morning reportedly causing death and injury as the boat convoy approached the Gaza coast."
The Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories, Richard Falk, is also quoted on Monday as saying, "...these were ships that were carrying humanitarian supplies for blockaded Gaza, that the passengers were unarmed and were situated at the time of the Israeli attacks on the high seas, that these attacks, therefore, were unlawful and by most interpretations would be regarded as criminal."
The "Freedom Flotilla" began its journey on Saturday 29 May 2010 off the coast of Cyprus, and was destined to reach Gaza on Monday. An international warning was launched by Israel warning the flotilla that it would not be allowed to enter the port of Gaza, emphasizing that the organizers of the aid mission would have to choose between arrest and abandonment of their mission. More than 750 supporters from 40 countries were passengers on a fleet of eight vessels, made up of ships from Turkey, Greece, Ireland, Sweden, Algeria and Kuwait.
The ships were carrying more than 10 thousand tons of medical supplies, building materials, and timber for 100 houses, ready to help the tens of thousands of people who lost their homes in the Israeli war on Gaza in early 2009. The fleet was also carrying 500 electric wheelchairs, considering that the recent war left nearly 600 disabled.
Alkarama strongly condemns the crimes committed by Israel in international waters on naval ships supporting a humanitarian mission.
Alkarama continues to follow the case of those victimized by the attack and is currently working to raise the cases with the United Nation human rights mechanisms, in particular the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions; especially considering the crimes committed took place on international waters, thus violating international law as stated in Article II of the 1958 Geneva Convention on the High Seas.
For more information or an interview, please contact media@alkarama.org (Dir: +41 22 734 1008).