The Gaza Freedom Flotilla, organized by the Free Gaza Movement and the Turkish Foundation for Human Rights and Freedoms and Humanitarian Relief (İHH), was carrying humanitarian aid and construction materials, with the intention of breaking the Israeli-Egyptian

blockade of the Gaza Strip The blockade of the Gaza Strip is the ongoing land, air, and sea blockade of the Gaza Strip imposed by Israel and Egypt temporarily in 2005–2006 and permanently from 2007 onwards, following the Israeli disengagement from Gaza. The bloc ...

. In normal circumstances, aid is brought to Israel to be inspected and then transferred to Gaza. On 31 May 2010, Israeli forces boarded the ships from speedboats and helicopters. Following resistance on one of the boats, nine activists were killed by Israeli forces. Widespread international condemnation of and reaction to the raid followed,

Israel–Turkey relations Israeli–Turkish relations are the bilateral ties between the State of Israel and the Republic of Turkey. Israel–Turkey relations were formalized in March 1949,Abadi, pg. 6 when Turkey was the first Muslim majority country to recognize th ...

were strained, and Israel subsequently eased its blockade on the Gaza Strip.

Overview

The flotilla was the Free Gaza Movement's ninth attempt to break the

naval blockade A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It include ...

imposed by Israel on the

Gaza Strip The Gaza Strip (;The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p.761 "Gaza Strip /'gɑːzə/ a strip of territory under the control of the Palestinian National Authority and Hamas, on the SE Mediterranean coast including the town of Gaza.. ...

. Israel proposed inspecting the

cargo Cargo consists of bulk goods conveyed by water, air, or land. In economics, freight is cargo that is transported at a freight rate for commercial gain. ''Cargo'' was originally a shipload but now covers all types of freight, including tra ...

at the Port of Ashdod and then delivering non-blockaded goods through land crossings, but this proposal was turned down. Israeli forces then raided and seized the Gaza-bound ships in

international waters The terms international waters or transboundary waters apply where any of the following types of bodies of water (or their drainage basins) transcend international boundaries: oceans, large marine ecosystems, enclosed or semi-enclosed region ...

of the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on ...

. Five shipments had been allowed through prior to the 2008–09 Gaza War, but all shipments following the war were blocked by Israel. This flotilla was the largest to date. An Islamic aid group from Turkey, the İHH (İnsani Yardım Vakfı) (Foundation for Human Rights and Freedoms and Humanitarian Relief) sponsored a large passenger ship and two cargo ships. While the UN's official report found Israel's blockade of Gaza to be legal, another set of UN experts, reporting to the Human Rights Council, came to the opposite conclusion finding that it violated international law.

Organization

Ships

The ships of the Gaza flotilla raid comprised three passenger ships and three cargo ships: * ''Challenger 1'' (small yacht), US, Free Gaza Movement * MS ''Eleftheri Mesogios (Free Mediterranean)'' or ''Sofia'' (cargo boat),

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wi ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic countries, Nordic c ...

Greek Ship to Gaza * ''Sfendoni''(small passenger boat), Greece Greek Ship to Gaza and European Campaign to End the Siege on Gaza * MV '' Mavi Marmara'' (passenger ship),

Comoros The Comoros,, ' officially the Union of the Comoros,; ar, الاتحاد القمري ' is an independent country made up of three islands in southeastern Africa, located at the northern end of the Mozambique Channel in the Indian Ocean. It ...

, İHH * ''Gazze'',

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula ...

, İHH * ''Defne Y'',

Kiribati Kiribati (), officially the Republic of Kiribati ( gil, ibaberikiKiribati),Kiribati
''The Wor ...

, İHH Two other Free Gaza Movement ships, ''Challenger 2'' (USA flagged) and MV ''Rachel Corrie'' (

Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand ...

flagged) were behind the rest of the flotilla due to mechanical problems. There have been claims this was due to Israeli sabotage. ''Challenger 2'' aborted, but the ''Rachel Corrie'' continued its journey.

Cargo

Three of the flotilla ships carried only passengers and their personal belongings, while three other ships carried 10,000 tons of humanitarian aid, with an estimated value of $20 million. The cargo included food, wheelchairs, books, toys, electricity generators, operating theater equipment, medicines, medical equipment, textiles, footwear, cash,

mobility scooter A mobility scooter is an electric vehicle and mobility aid mostly auxiliary to a power wheelchair but configured like a motorscooter. When motorized they are commonly referred to as a power-operated vehicle/scooter, or electric scooter. Non-mo ...

s, sofas, and building materials, such as cement, which are prohibited under the Israeli blockade, although Israel offered to allow the cement to enter Gaza, if the flotilla were to dock in Ashdod. Israeli news reported the flotilla to be carrying ballistic vests,

gas mask A gas mask is a mask used to protect the wearer from inhaling airborne pollutants and toxic gases. The mask forms a sealed cover over the nose and mouth, but may also cover the eyes and other vulnerable soft tissues of the face. Most gas mas ...

night-vision goggles A night-vision device (NVD), also known as a night optical/observation device (NOD), night-vision goggle (NVG), is an optoelectronic device that allows visualization of images in low levels of light, improving the user's night vision. The dev ...

, clubs, and

slingshot A slingshot is a small hand-powered projectile weapon. The classic form consists of a Y-shaped frame, with two natural rubber strips or tubes attached to the upper two ends. The other ends of the strips lead back to a pocket that holds the pro ...

s, although the UNHRC report does not mention these items and in the Turkish Report on the Israeli attack on the Humanitarian Aid Convoy to Gaza it states that all passengers and crew as well as the cargo were searched to international standards and no weapons were found, on the ships departing from Turkey. Two-thirds of the medicines delivered by the flotilla expired between six and fifteen months prior to the raid, and were found to be useless. Some other medicines found on the flotilla were due to expire soon. Additionally, Israel said that much of the cargo, including sensitive medical equipment, was found to have been scattered in the ship's holds, and put in piles rather than packed properly for transport, and consequently damaged. Operating theater equipment, which was supposed to be kept sterile, was carelessly wrapped. The expiring medications and sensitive equipment were kept in frozen storage in the Israeli Defense Ministry before delivery to Gaza.

Passengers

In previous voyages, Free Gaza vessels carried 140 passengers in total. In this flotilla, over 600 activists were on board the ''Mavi Marmara'' alone. There were 663 passengers from 37 nations on board the flotilla. Notable people aboard the flotilla included former UN Assistant Secretary-General Denis Halliday, former U.S. Ambassador to Mauritania Edward Peck, and survivor Joe Meadors. Israeli-Arab member of

Knesset The Knesset ( he, הַכְּנֶסֶת ; "gathering" or "assembly") is the unicameral legislature of Israel. As the supreme state body, the Knesset is sovereign and thus has complete control of the entirety of the Israeli government (wit ...

Haneen Zoubi Haneen Zoabi ( ar, حنين زعبي, he, חנין זועבי; born 23 May 1969), is a Palestinian-Israeli politician. The first Arab woman to be elected to the legislature on an Arab party's list, she served as a member of the Knesset for t ...

, leader of the northern branch of the Islamic Movement in Israel

Raed Salah Raed (; Arabic: , ') is an Arabic male name, meaning ''leader or pioneer''. People * Raed Arafat (born 1964), Syrian-born physician of Palestinian descent and Romanian citizenship * Raed Elhamali, Libyan-American basketball player * Raed Fares, Syr ...

, Swedish novelist Henning Mankell, convicted hijacker

Erdinç Tekir Erdinç Tekir (born November 17, 1966) is a Turkish member of the IHH of Abkhaz origin.Black Sea hijacking, and a number of parliamentarians from European and Arab national legislatures and the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the Legislature, legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven Institutions of the European Union, institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and in ...

Ties with groups marked as terror organizations

In June 2010 U.S. Assistant Secretary of State P. J. Crowley told reporters Wednesday: "'We know that IHH representatives have met with senior Hamas officials in Turkey, Syria and Gaza over the past three years,'" and "'That is obviously of great concern to us.'" The AP was quoted on msnbc ''The Turkish Islamic charity behind a flotilla of aid ships that was raided by Israeli forces on its way to Gaza had ties to terrorism networks, including a 1999 al-Qaida plot to bomb Los Angeles International Airport, France's former top anti-terrorism judge said Wednesday.'' In June 2012 it was reported that the IHH director Fehmi Bülent Yıldırım is reportedly being investigated by Turkish authorities for allegedly creating a financial partnership with al-Qaeda.

Motives

Flickr - Israel Defense Forces - Passengers Use Violence on the Mavi Marmara

Israel questioned the humanitarian motives of flotilla organizers. Israel said it had invited the organizers to use the land crossings but they were "less interested in bringing in aid than in promoting their radical agenda, playing into the hands of Hamas provocations. While they have wrapped themselves in a humanitarian cloak, they are engaging in political propaganda and not in pro-Palestinian aid." Flickr - Israel Defense Forces - Mavi Marmara Activists Prepare to Attack IDF Soldiers (1)

Flickr - Israel Defense Forces - Mavi Marmara Activists Prepare to Attack IDF Soldiers (1)

According to an early IDF press release, the ship carried 75

mercenaries A mercenary, sometimes Pseudonym, also known as a soldier of fortune or hired gun, is a private individual, particularly a soldier, that joins a military conflict for personal profit, is otherwise an outsider to the conflict, and is not a memb ...

with links to

al-Qaeda Al-Qaeda (; , ) is an Islamic extremist organization composed of Salafist jihadists. Its members are mostly composed of Arabs, but also include other peoples. Al-Qaeda has mounted attacks on civilian and military targets in various countr ...

and other terror organizations, who carried $10,000 apiece on their persons. The claim was never substantiated and was later withdrawn. Israel has said that the group boarded separately in a different city and went on deck under different procedures. The Turkish Customs officials and the İHH denied the allegations. The impending arrival of the fleet was known to Israel government, military intelligence and press. Israel said that the flotilla was violating international law, but one of the flotilla's organizers, Greta Berlin, stated that " have the right to sail from international waters into the waters of Gaza". Israel informed the fleet that it would be redirected to the port of

Ashdod Ashdod ( he, ''ʾašdōḏ''; ar, أسدود or إسدود ''ʾisdūd'' or '' ʾasdūd'' ; Philistine: 𐤀𐤔𐤃𐤃 *''ʾašdūd'') is the sixth-largest city in Israel. Located in the country's Southern District, it lies on the Mediterran ...

and the cargo would be transferred to Gaza after undergoing a security inspection. Foreigners would be deported or, if they did not willingly agree to be deported, detained. The flotilla organisers rejected Israel's demand, as it did not believe that Israel would transfer the cargo to Gaza, and said that, "This mission is not about delivering humanitarian supplies, it's about breaking Israel's siege on 1.5 million Palestinians... We want to raise international awareness about the prison-like closure of Gaza and pressure the international community to review its sanctions policy and end its support for continued Israeli occupation." The UNHRC fact-finding mission noted a "certain tension between the political objectives of the flotilla and its humanitarian objectives", which came to light "the moment the Government of Israel made offers to allow the humanitarian aid to be delivered via Israeli ports but under the supervision of a neutral organization". It also announced that Gaza did not have a deep sea port capable of receiving the sort of cargo ships participating in the flotilla. It concluded that "whilst the mission is satisfied that the flotilla constituted a serious attempt to bring essential humanitarian supplies into Gaza, it seems clear that the primary objective was political, as indeed demonstrated by the decision of those on board the ''Rachel Corrie'' to reject a Government of

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

-sponsored proposal that the cargo in that ship be allowed through

intact". Some supporters of the flotilla said that "a violent response from Israel will breathe new life into the Palestine solidarity movement, drawing attention to the blockade." Two of the activists (Ali Haydar Bengi and Ibrahim Bilgen) who died during the MV ''Mavi Marmara'' clash had previously said that they wished for martydom. On 29 May, Aljazeera broadcast footage of ''Mavi Marmara'' activists participating in a chant calling for battle against Jews. Former U.S. Marine Kenneth O'Keefe, who was aboard the Mavi Marmara, stated that the activists knew from the outset that there would be no

passive resistance Nonviolent resistance (NVR), or nonviolent action, sometimes called civil resistance, is the practice of achieving goals such as social change through symbolic protests, civil disobedience, economic or political noncooperation, satyagraha, c ...

. "I knew that if the Israelis boarded that ship, it would be a disaster...You have to be an idiot to board that ship and think it will be a ship of passive resistance," he told

Haaretz ''Haaretz'' ( , originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , ) is an Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel, and is now published in both Hebrew and English in the Berliner ...

newspaper. In a public address in October 2010 on ''Al-Aqsa TV'', Abd Al-Razzaq Al-Maqri, Head of Moroccan and Algerian Delegation to the Gaza Convoy, stated, according to a translation published by MEMRI, that "the mujahideen have told us that they decided not to defeat the oppressive Jews by gunfire, but instead, by daggers."

Initial leg

Six of the eight ships set out on 30 May 2010 from international waters off the coast of

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ...

; the remaining two were delayed by mechanical problems. "We do not even have a jackknife here, but we will not let Israeli soldiers on board this ship," İHH leader Fehmi Bülent Yıldırım told reporters via a live video stream before the convoy set sail. The government of Cyprus refused to cooperate with the Free Gaza Movement or allow activists to sail from its harbors. The

Cyprus Police The Cyprus Police ( Greek: ), is the National Police Service of the Republic of Cyprus and is under the Ministry of Justice and Public Order since 1993. The duties and responsibilities of the Cyprus Police are set out in the amended Police La ...

stated that "anything related to the trip to Gaza is not permitted," and as a result remaining MPs and activists embarked instead from

Famagusta Famagusta ( , ; el, Αμμόχωστος, Ammóchostos, ; tr, Gazimağusa or ) is a city on the east coast of Cyprus. It is located east of Nicosia and possesses the deepest harbour of the island. During the Middle Ages (especially under t ...

Northern Cyprus Northern Cyprus ( tr, Kuzey Kıbrıs), officially the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC; tr, Kuzey Kıbrıs Türk Cumhuriyeti, ''KKTC''), is a '' de facto'' state that comprises the northeastern portion of the island of Cyprus. Rec ...

. Cypriot and Greek MPs and activists refused to embark via ports in Northern Cyprus. Having been delayed by two days, the flotilla aimed to reach Gaza on the afternoon of 31 May.

Pre-raid sabotage rumors

There are claims that the IDF or the

Mossad Mossad ( , ), ; ar, الموساد, al-Mōsād, ; , short for ( he, המוסד למודיעין ולתפקידים מיוחדים, links=no), meaning 'Institute for Intelligence and Special Operations'. is the national intelligence agency ...

may have sabotaged three of the ships before the raid. According to the

National Post The ''National Post'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet newspaper available in several cities in central and western Canada. The paper is the flagship publication of Postmedia Network and is published Mondays through Saturdays, with ...

, Israeli deputy defense minister Matan Vilnai hinted that Israel had exhausted covert means of stalling the vessels. He said: "Everything was considered. I don't want to elaborate beyond that, because the fact is there were not up to 10, or however many ships were riginallyplanned." A senior IDF officer hinted to the

Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee that some of the vessels had been tampered with to halt them far from the Gaza or Israeli coast. According to UPI press coverage, the officer alluded to "grey operations" against the flotilla and said that no such action had been taken against the Mavi Marmara out of fear that the vessel might be stranded in the middle of the sea, endangering the people on board. Israel was accused of sabotaging activist ships in the past but no evidence has been found to back up these claims. Three ships – the ''Rachel Corrie'', the ''Challenger I'' and the ''Challenger II'' – suffered damage or malfunction. While the ''Challenger I'' was able to continue, the ''Challenger II'' had to turn back halfway through the journey and ''Rachel Corrie'' docked for repairs in

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

. Greta Berlin of the Free Gaza Movement said that electric wires may have been tampered with.

Raid and aftermath

Israeli forces raided the flotilla on the night of 30–31 May 2010 in

of the Mediterranean Sea, boarding the ships using speedboats and helicopters. Nine activists were killed. Dozens of activists and seven Israeli soldiers were injured. Flickr - Israel Defense Forces - Toys from Flotilla Unloaded at Ashdod Port

Flickr - Israel Defense Forces - Toys from Flotilla Unloaded at Ashdod Port

After the raid, the activists were detained in Israel pending release: all were deported by 6 June. The ships were towed to Israel and those claimed by their owners were returned. The aid was delivered to Gaza under United Nations supervision on 17 June. Widespread international condemnation of and reaction to the raid followed. Various investigations were conducted, including by the United Nations, Israel and Turkey. Israel-Turkey relations were strained, and Israel subsequently eased its blockade on Gaza.

Subsequent events

Freedom Flotilla II

Freedom Flotilla II sailed in June/July 2011.

Freedom Flotilla III

Freedom Flotilla III sailed in May/June 2015.

References

; Citations * * *

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gaza Freedom Flotilla Greece–Israel relations Israel–Turkey relations Israel–United States relations Political activism