Pro-Hamas sea convoy charity was militant act of provocation, Israeli Gov says

by Tamas S. Kiss Monday, May 31st, 2010

The Israeli Defense Force has eliminated at least 10 alleged peace keepers in a surprise attack on an embargoed sea convoy called the Gaza Aid Flotilla. The convoy went on to attempt entering into ‘blockaded’ waters despite earlier diplomatic and military Israeli warnings, believing that aid shipments had included military equipment for the alleged terrorist activities of Hamas. Israel acted on the grounds that despite being on international waters 60km off the coast of Israel, the alleged aid ships had threatened Israel’s sovereignty.

Israeli Commando forces acted swiftly boarding some of the vessels in the early hours of Monday morning (May 31, 2010). Alleged peace activists had reportedly drawn firearms, knives and axes against the boarding routine patrol commando members, before they took action, resulting in at least 10 deaths. In the shoot-out at least four Israeli commando unit members were injured. Israel has issued a state of emergency warning, fearing retaliation by Hamas, as the Gaza government had labeled the action an act of piracy.

The ships and crews in question had been towed to the port city of Ashdod until further notice. Turkish authorities claimed that Israel had acted unlawfully. It was an alleged Islamic charity working from Turkey, which had arranged for the convoys of aid shipments to Gaza. Israeli officials have called the Turkish charity a bluff and veiled military support for Hamas. Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon (pictured) dubbed the Turkish-led provocation a Hamas-supporting “armada of hate and violence.”

He said that the hostile attempt had been a “premeditated and outrageous provocation. Hungarian charity organization HAMA has denied any form of association to the issue, in a disclaimer announced that its name is merely an acronym and has nothing to do with anything concerning Hamas, political or religious. All Israeli embassies world wide are on red alert since the incident.

In Budapest special metal fences and bullet-proof vest and helmet equipped policemen are guarding the embassy in Fullank utca in Budapest’s elite District 2, called Rozsa Domb or Rose Hill, named by Bektash dervish and poet, Gul Baba during his Turkish occupation of the capital of Hungary. Ironically Turks lived in the site of today’s Israeli embassy and its neighbourhood. The US administration is yet to react on the issue, political analysts said.