Israeli's illegal shooting of innocent people in flotilla

On 31 May, Israeli forces attacked and boarded one of six vessels carrying aid to Gaza, killing nine people. Serious questions remain about the whole assault. What sort of investigation will be carried out following the detention of the activists - including around 41 British citizens - who were taken against their will to Israel? Most importantly, will Israel be held to account for the ongoing illegal blockade of the Gaza Strip?


Questions relating to the assault on the flotilla to the Gaza Strip and the blockade
 
Why did Israeli forces attack boats carrying humanitarian aid in international waters?

Israel attacked the boats 20 miles into international waters. They could have waited until the boats reached Gaza's waters, where Israeli forces maintain a naval blockade.  Israeli officials claim that there was a threat to their security but there was no evidence at all that any weapons were on the boats and none were found. Israel never claimed it had evidence that suggested weapons might have been on board. The activists asserted that the boats and passengers had been thoroughly searched prior to departure.
 
What is the government's assessment of the legality of the Israeli attack on the humanitarian convoy in international waters?
 
Could Israeli forces have avoided using live ammunition and lethal force?

Israel had other options other than to attack the boat and board it with armed commandos. Israeli warships could have simply prevented the boats from reaching Gaza, as they have in the past. Instead, nine people were killed and 30 injured. 

What is more, the Israeli blockade of Gaza is illegal and the boats should have been allowed to proceed without interference.
 
Is the government convinced that Israeli forces took all measures possible to avoid the loss of life?
 
Given that Israeli authorities had publicly announced that they would attack the flotilla, did the British government make clear before the event that Israel had to abide by its international legal obligations?
 
Did Israeli forces encounter live fire from the activists?

Israeli accounts have varied. They have claimed that Israeli soldiers were shot at, but then admitted this was not the case. As BBC Newsnight showed on Tuesday night (1 June 2010), footage from the boat showed that Israel soldiers were carrying lethal weapons from the beginning - not just paint ball guns and pistols as had been claimed. Another inconsistency in Israeli official accounts was the many initial references to an attempted 'lynching', for which there appears no evidence. And despite all the Israeli footage there is no evidence shown of any activist firing a weapon.
 
Can the government confirm that the activists in international waters had every right to self-defence in the face of an armed military attack?
 
Why has it taken so long for a different version of events to come out from the activists on board the vessels?

Only some time after the attack did accounts from the humanitarian activists appear in the media, including reports that Israeli forces opened fire before they even boarded the Mavi Marmara. See http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jun/01/gaza-flotilla-eyewitness-accounts-gunfire Israeli forces had jammed all communications before, during and after the attack. They detained all the activists and took all their possessions, save their passports. It is not clear that these possessions have been returned. Israel has only released limited footage, that is clearly edited, and ends abruptly. Any investigation must insist on obtaining all possessions and be given access to all photo and video footage as well as to all witnesses of the events.
 
Will the government ensure that the Israeli government returns all the confiscated possessions of British citizens?
 
Will the government be seeking a clear explanation as to why unarmed British nationals were stopped in international waters, then taken against their will to Israel and detained without immediate release?
 
What consular and legal assistance has the government been able to provide to the detained British nationals?

Was there any attempt to force any British citizens to sign documents against their will?

Will the government assist with legal assistance for the detained British nationals to obtain full compensation?
 
Is the government aware that the Israeli government has promised to use even greater force in the future? Please see:
http://www.jpost.com/Israel/Article.aspx?id=177134
 
What assurances has the government received that Israel will not attack boats in international waters in the future?
 
What has happened to the United Nations Security Council call for an investigation?

The UN Security Council statement of 31 May said that there must be an "impartial, credible and transparent investigation conforming to international standards." There is no clarity as to how such an investigation will be conducted and by whom. To be "impartial, credible and transparent', it needs to take place immediately, be independent and rigorous. No Israeli-run inquiry will have any credibility outside of Israel. To have any credibility any inquiry must have full UN Security Council authorised powers to obtain all footage of the attack and interview all witnesses without limit or restriction. It must be remembered that Israel has routinely denied access to UN inquiries in the past, including the Goldstone Commission which investigated the Israeli attack on Gaza in 2008-9 and the UN investigation into Operation Defensive Shield when Israel invaded Palestinian cities the West Bank in 2003. As Richard Falk, the UN Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in the occupied Palestinian territories, has stated, those found responsible should be held criminally responsible.
 
What discussions has the government had with its UN Security Council counterparts about the investigation into the attack? How and when will such an investigation will be carried out and with what authority?
 
Did Israel have the right to stop these boats docking in Gaza?
 
Gaza is not sovereign Israeli territory. Israel has claimed erroneously that it ended its occupation in 2005. This sea blockade is just one reason why international lawyers and the United Nations still consider the strip to be under Israeli belligerent occupation, as it has been ever since 1967, and that Israel is violating its legal obligations regarding the welfare of the civilian population. In principle, a state cannot enforce an embargo against boats flying the flag of another state in international waters.
 
Israeli Ministers have said that this was a 'political flotilla'?
 
The flotilla was carrying  humanitarian and emergency supplies. This was only necessary because of Israel's illegal collective punishment of the people of the Gaza Strip. There is a political message but a vital one, that the world should not stand aside and watch what a UN inquiry described as a potential "crime against humanity" continues. The very act of breaching the blockade and ending the isolation of the Palestinians in Gaza from the outside world is also very important and uplifting for a civilian population that has suffered so much.
 
In such circumstances, the real question is: why has the international community allowed the blockade to continue and left members of civil society of all political persuasions (not just left wing) to carry out what should be done by the international community?
 
 

Briefing on humanitarian supplies to Gaza and the flotilla
 
 
Israeli officials claim that the Palestinians in Gaza are not denied food and there are 100 trucks a day entering the strip.
 
The number of trucks entering Gaza with foodstuffs is totally insufficient for a population of 1.5 million. In April 2010 the number of truckloads entering Gaza (2,647) was 78% down on the corresponding figures for the first five months of 2007 (12,350).The Israeli MFA claims 100 trucks a day enter Gaza yet at least 500 trucks a day are needed.  According to the United Nations, 60% of households are short of food. 
See http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/may/31/gaza-blockade-israel
 
There is also no explanation as to why Israel decided to limit food supplies in the first place and ban food items such as pasta, dates, tea, spices and chocolate.
 
The supplies that come through the tunnels are no substitute for opening the land crossings when providing for an entire population. Products smuggled in through the tunnels are far too expensive for most of the local population. In addition, according to the UN the lack of a proper supply of fuel has meant that "many of the 1.4 million Palestinians residing in the Gaza Strip must cope with scheduled electricity cuts 8-12 hours daily, compared to 6-8 hours prior to January 2010".
 
For a background on the blockade please read the short brief by the Israeli human rights group, B'tselem
http://www.btselem.org/English/Gaza_Strip/20100531_The_Siege_on_Gaza.asp

See also the statement of John Holmes, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, on the 'Free Gaza' Flotilla Crisis who condemns the attack and calls for an end to the blockade: "I call for this disaster to be the occasion for this collective punishment of the people of Gaza to be lifted once and for all."

Would the British government agree with the statement of John Holmes, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, that the blockade of Gaza is the collective punishment of the people of Gaza?"
 
 
Israel claims that it has allowed cement into the Gaza Strip and that therefore there is no point in bringing this on the boats.
 
Since the blockade began in June 2007 cement was not allowed into the Gaza Strip even if it was for UN projects. Only since September 2009 have extremely limited amounts of cement been allowed in, but other vital construction materials necessary for the rebuilding of homes, hospitals and schools destroyed by Israeli armed forces have either not been allowed in or only in very limited quantities. According to the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 23 tonnes of iron and 25 tonnes of cement were allowed in the first quarter of 2010, a minute fraction of what is needed for Gaza to recover. According to the UN, construction materials are needed to rebuild 12,000 homes destroyed by Israel in recent years and to build a further 20,000 homes and 100 schools to accommodate for population growth.



 See  http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900sid/SKEA-85UCR3/$File/full_report.pdf