Free Republic

Yesterday's "aid convoy" incident off the coast of Gaza wasn't about bringing humanitarian supplies to the terrorist-ruled territory. It wasn't even about Israel. It was about Turkey's determination to position itself as the leading Muslim state in the Middle East. Three ships of that six-ship pro-terror convoy flew Turkish flags and were crowded with Turkish citizens. The Ankara government -- led by Islamists these days -- sponsored the "aid" operation in a move to position itself as the new champion of the Palestinians. And Turkish decision-makers knew Israel would have to react -- and were waiting to exploit the inevitable...

Drudge Report has a bad habit of linking to and promoting articles written and contrived by anti-Israel AP and Reuters "stringers".Unless Drudge changes it today sometime after this is posted, currently as of this writting there is not a single Israeli account of the interdiction of the so-called "peace-activist" Gaza flotila on the Drudge Report.No links to Jpost, Israel National News, or other Israeli media articles on the incident.The current [ 9:47am EST 05/31/10] page of Drudge Report lists the following headlines on this matter:Israeli commandos storm aid flotilla; 10 killed... Israelis say self-defense; were attacked with knives, sticks, gunfire...France: Profoundly shocked, Europe calls for...

Video taken by IDF naval boat shows the passengers of the Mavi Marmara, one of the ships in the 'Free Gaza' Flotilla, violently attacking IDF soldiers who were trying to board the ship after having sent repeated requests for the boat to change course. Large groups of passengers surrounded soldiers and beat them with metal poles and chairs, and threw one soldier over the side of the ship. Some passengers grabbed pistols from the IDF soldiers and opened fire. As a result of the attacks, seven IDF soldiers were injured, and nine of the passengers were killed. The 'Free Gaza'...

The Israeli navy made its first contact with a flotilla carrying hundreds of pro-Palestinian activists and thousands of tons of supplies for Gaza shortly before midnight on Sunday, surprising the boats in international waters, according to activists on one vessel. Israel has vowed not to let the flotilla reach the shores of Gaza, where the Islamic militant group Hamas holds sway, putting the activists and the Israelis on a high-profile public relations collision course. Named the Freedom Flotilla and led by the pro-Palestinian Free Gaza Movement and a Turkish organization, Insani Yardim Vakfi, the convoy of six cargo and passenger...

A Well-thought Plan by Ari Bussel At Ten PM Pacific Standard Time the news started coming in. First it was two dead, then 16 later 20. Bloomberg reports “Israeli Forces Clash With Gaza-bound Ships; Reports of 10 Dead.” Al Jazeera in English: “Israel attacks Gaza aid fleet, up to 16 people reportedly killed and dozens injured after troops board ships trying to break Gaza siege.” Israeli Debka site in Hebrew, among the very first to report the news: “At least 20 dead and tens wounded in the vessels of the flotilla to Gaza during the IDF’s boarding. The IDF soldiers...

“IDF: Gaza flotilla activists stole 2 handguns from soldiers” 05/31/2010 11:30 SNIPPET: “The IDF said Monday that international activists aboard a ship of the Gaza flotilla were found with handguns. The weapons were stolen from soldiers who boarded the ship early Monday.”

HAIFA, Israel - Israeli Navy commandos attacked at least one of the six ships carrying pro-Palestinian activists and aid for blockaded Gaza, killing 10 and wounding several dozen on board, according to an Israeli TV network and a lawyer for the activists' group. Channel 10 said the final death toll could be higher as Navy commandos who boarded the convoy were still conducting searches and encountering often violent resistance from pro-Palestinian activists. Responding to accusations that Israeli commandos assaulted the ships guns blazing, Israel's Army Radio later said that passengers had tried to grab weapons away from soldiers boarding the...

HAIFA, Israel (AP) — Israeli warships attacked at least one of the six ships carrying pro-Palestinian activists and aid for blockaded Gaza, killing at least two and wounding an unknown number of people on board, an Arabic satellite service and a Turkish TV network reported early Monday. The Israeli military refused to comment on the report

JERUSALEM: On a day of remembrance for Israel's fallen soldiers yesterday, Israeli Chief of Staff Moshe Yaalon warned the army would continue to assassinate leaders of radical Palestinian movements. "Pre-emptive strikes will continue because they undeniably weaken terrorist organisations," General Yaalon told public radio in an interview marking Israel's Remembrance Day. But he admitted the killing of militant Palestinian leaders did "not immediately dent the motivation" of radical organisations and risked fanning the flames of violence through retaliatory attacks. The speech came as Palestinian fighters fired on a military vehicle in the southern West Bank near Hebron yesterday, killing an...