Mark Regev, spokesperson for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said via a conference call on Tuesday that of the six boats in the Gaza flotilla intercepted by the Israeli navy on the high seas, five went peacefully. The sixth vessel with approximately 500 passengers aboard, the Mavi Marmara, was the only one where there were clashes. The passengers aboard the Marmara “chose violence,” said Regev.
The U.N. Security Council has called for a “prompt, impartial, credible, and transparent investigation” into the incident.
“Nine people were killed, and that’s a tragedy,” said Regev, adding that the boat had extremists from a Turkish organization that has been linked to terrorism called the IHH. The Turkish government has conducted raids against the IHH in the past.
Despite expressing regret for the loss of life, the Israeli government and the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) have repeatedly emphasized that they considered the advancing flotilla to be a security threat, and were attempting to commandeer the boats by boarding them. They have also maintained that encountering violence on the Marmara came as a surprise.
“Our servicemen—it’s very clear—were under a direct threat to their lives,” said Regev.
Fifty passengers from the Marmara and other ships have chosen voluntary deportation and are being returned to their countries. The remaining passengers have refused to show identification or give their names and will be returned to their countries via compulsory deportation, a process that takes about two to three days.
Organizers from The Freedom Flotilla Coalition said that Israeli-licensed attorneys filed two habeas briefs on Monday.
According to Greta Berlin, an organizer from the Free Gaza Movement, one of the briefs is asking for the release of the passengers and the boats to allow them to continue on to Gaza. The other brief asked for information on all of the passengers.
The flotilla coalition consists of the Free Gaza Movement (FG), European Campaign to End the Siege of Gaza (ECESG), Insani Yardim Vakfi (IHH), Ship to Gaza Greece, Ship to Gaza Sweden, The Perdana Global Peace Organization, and the International Committee to Lift the Siege on Gaza. The International Federation of Journalists says there were close to 100 journalists aboard the ships as well.
“There has been a total blackout on where the passengers are, who was wounded and who was murdered,” stated Berlin in a press release late Tuesday night.
According to Regev, all the consulates of the passengers have been given information of casualties and those still in custody.
Lawyers for those detained are being allowed access to the detained for three hours every day, said the Freedom Flotilla Coalition press release.
The coalition also reported that Haneen Zuabi, a member of the Israeli Knesset (Parliament), a passenger on the Marmara, was released because of her immunity as a member of the Knesset.
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