An extended video has emerged of the Israeli navy seizing the Marianne, a ship in the latest freedom flotilla that tried to get to Gaza. The activist ship was carrying humanitarian aid, human rights advocates, an ex-president of Tunisia, an Israeli lawmaker, a European parliament member, and an almost equal number of journalists. The ten-minute footage that aired on Israel’s Channel 2 last night comes as a second installment of reporting by Israeli journalist Ohad Chemo who was aboard the Marianne, the lead boat in the four-vessel Freedom Flotilla III.
The first clip broadcasted two days ago on Israeli television and showed the navy using tasers against passengers who do not appear to be resisting the vessel’s takeover. The action contradicted an initial Israeli government statement that the interception was “uneventful.”
Chemo’s latest video, “Three days at sea on the way to Gaza” chronicles activists on the last leg of their trip, after the boat has picked up passengers off the shores of Greece. On camera they show Chemo their modest sleeping arrangements and discuss their twice daily “passive resistance” trainings on how to behave in the event that their are commandeered by Israeli forces while at sea. They pass time chatting in a main cabin filled with Palestinian national items decoratively displayed. They have light moments too. Swedish-Israeli passenger Dror Feiler plays a tune by famed Egyptian musician Umm Kultum on his saxophone. But mostly, the sea voyage is long and monotonous.
The drama picks up Saturday when the Marianne detects a number of unidentified boats in the distance. “I believe we are [being] tailed. They want to see what we are doing,” said one passenger.
The following evening, the crew again find boats in the distance. This time they made their presence known by delivering a radio message, “We are sending you two white boats closer to you to talk to you. Over,” said an unidentified voice.
Next Israeli navy boats approached. A siren rang. “Welcome” said a different voice in three languages through a megaphone of the side of the Marianne. “Your attempt to arrive Gaza is a breach of the international law. You’re requested to stop.”
A passenger calls back also through a megaphone, “We are in international waters and you have no right to board this ship.” Indeed the activists were floating more than 100 miles off the coast of Gaza and had not entered waters controlled by Israel’s military blockade of the occupied Palestinian territory. The army then asked if they could come aboard. The passenger said no. The Israeli navy boarded anyway, but not before dipping into politics with the former president of Tunisia, Moncef Marzuki, one of the Marianne’s notables.
“We were really sorry to hear this and I am surprised that you are on your way to support a regime which shares the same ideology of those who committed an act of terror,” said an Israeli commando, referencing a terror attack in Tunisia earlier this week when gunman killed 38 people on a tourist beach.
“Why this bullshit? We are not supporting any regime,” one of the passengers yelled back.
In the next scene the navy has taken over the Marianne. Chemo, the Israeli journalist, now in front of the camera, dutifully gives his last update while tasers buzz in the background. One of the passengers shouts “Help, help, help! Stop!” as he is surrounded by a ring of Israeli forces holding him against more tasers.
Chemo is the first Israeli journalist to embed with flotilla activists. His videos come as the only footage of the Israeli army commandeering the activists’ boat. “All of their personal possessions and technical equipment were confiscated during the attack on the ship – none were returned despite their release,” said Hareth Adlouni, a spokesperson for Al Jazeera who confirmed his network’s two journalists were released within 24 hours and “have arrived at their homes safely.”
“There is no criminal proceedings against anyone,” I was informed by Lymor Goldstein, an attorney in law offices of Gaby Lasky, who is representing the activists passengers who are being deported today and tomorrow via Ben Gurion airport. Goldstein said that four passengers said they had been abused with tasers by the Israeli navy.
All 18 who were aboard, including the seven journalists, are banned from returning to Israel for the next ten years.
One journalist with Russia Today, Nadia Kevorkova remains in Israeli custody.
“Why this bullshit?”
Perfectly asked. Still awaiting some action on the part of the governments who never fail to support Israel and always fail their citizens. What message are these governments sending to their good humanitarian citizens?
afaik, only Sweden and Norway have issued official statements, otherwise *crickets*.
Now the IOF has committed another illegal act in international waters, sabotaged, lied, used violence, kidnapped and incarcerated unarmed, peaceful humanitarians, and stolen property again. The world is supposed to be grateful that the IOF didn’t murder the peaceful activists this time around? Such a “moral” and brave military, indeed. All they know is overkill and violence… all I know is that they’re violent, deadly cowards.
Thanks, Allison.
“Your attempt to arrive Gaza is a breach of the international law. You’re requested to stop.”
In what way is it a breach of international law?
These activists are extremely brave and deserve our utmost respect.What they do in taking on the IDF/Israel is almost suicidal and yet they put their lives in great danger to defend equality and justice for the Palestinian people.
They have my total admiration.
Each and everyone of them is worth countless zionists.
“Two Al Jazeera journalists have spoken out after Israeli navy forces assaulted and abducted them while covering the ‘Freedom Flotilla III’ heading to Gaza.
Mohamed El Bakkali, Al Jazeera’s reporter accompanying the flotilla, said that the attack on the ship occurred in international waters, which is an act of piracy and a violation of international law.
El Bakkali said, “We were 100 km deep in international waters when the Israeli Navy intercepted us and demanded the ship to be stopped and handed over. Upon the captain’s rejection, the soldiers stormed the ship and assaulted some of whom were in the cockpit. After that, they led the ship to Ashdod where we were inspected and investigated, all of our belongings (mobiles, laptops and cards) were confiscated, and then we were jailed pending deportation.”
Ammar Hamdan, the Al Jazeera cameraman who documented the trip, said that the Israeli army abducted and detained them under the sun in the middle of the sea for nearly 12 hours. Hamdan also said that the Israeli authorities “lost their minds” after Al Jazeera’s footage reached the world from the vessel, especially the images of Israeli soldiers storming the ship. Hamdan added: “All of their attempts to make me reveal the whereabouts of the footage failed, which prompted them to blackmail and search me more than five times. They reached a level of ugliness and depravity to photograph me naked. In the end, one of the officers lost his mind and shouted at his men claiming that I swallowed the camera memory cards, and I will get it out of my stomach after I get released”.
El Bakkali said that Israeli forces accused the journalists during the investigation of breaking the law. He also added that the Israeli authorities did not respect their right to call a lawyer during investigation, and refused his request to contact Al Jazeera’s bureau chief in Jerusalem.
Al Jazeera’s acting director general Mostefa Souag said:
“Israel has violated many international laws by hijacking and arresting journalists doing their job on a peaceful and unarmed flotilla while in international waters and heading to Gaza for humanitarian purposes. We call on the international community to work together to protect journalists who are doing their profession of covering stories. The release of our colleagues without returning all of their personal possessions and technical equipment is not enough. We together must do whatever it takes to expose violations of journalists’ rights”. …
… In this context, El Bakkali commented: “What happened to us is a violation of press freedom and an attempt to commit a crime without witnesses. However, this will not deter us from continuing our mission of reporting the truth with impartiality and integrity, regardless the sacrifices”. Hamdan commented on that saying: “Even if the price is what happened to me when they sentenced me in absentia prohibiting me from entering Occupied Palestine for ten years.”
– See more at: http://www.bulawayo24.com/index-id-news-sc-international-byo-70398.html#sthash.rtJA6T1A.dpuf
Israel has a long history of piracy on international waters. During June, 1967, israeli planes and boats attacked our navy ship SS Liberty, killing 37 sailors and wounding about 170, although it was plain that it is an american intelligence ship! We made a mistake of overhearing how the generals of the IDF planned to attack Egypt and other arab lands.
President Johnson did what all our other presidents do when Israel commits a crime against US properties and/or citizens, he stuck his head in the sand and ordered our planes, already in the air to help, back to their bases, living our citizens wide open for additional attacks, as the israelis returned several times to kill and maim a few more of our defensless sailors.