Israeli forces seized a boat on July 29 that was carrying nearly two dozen activists and journalists aiming to break Israel鈥檚 maritime blockade on Gaza.
The boat is part of the international Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC), which describes itself as 鈥渁 grassroots people-to-people solidarity movement composed of campaigns and initiatives from all over the world working together to end the siege of Gaza鈥.聽
Flotilla organisers said the boat had been 鈥渉ijacked鈥 by Israel, rejecting Israeli claims that its forces had intercepted and 鈥渞edirected鈥 their vessel to Israel 鈥渨ithout incident鈥.
The FFC聽 on July 31: 鈥淎ccording to first-hand evidence that we have been given, the Israeli occupation forces violently attacked our Norwegian-flagged boat聽Al Awda聽(The Return) as she was in international waters.鈥
Israeli soldiers beat passengers and used tasers against them, organisers said. New Zealand activist and Unite Union national director Mike Treen was reported to have been repeatedly tasered. Treen that another flotilla member was tasered in the head.
The Electronic Intifada one of the passengers assaulted was Dr Swee Chai Ang, a聽聽of the charity Medical Aid for Palestinians. Ang was a witness to the 1982聽聽of Palestinians in the Sabra and Shatila refugees camps in Beirut during the Israeli occupation of Lebanon.
Another flotilla participant was Australian New Matilda editor Chris Graham. He : 鈥淚srael鈥檚 blocking of the Gaza bound flotilla was obviously a predictable act, but that doesn鈥檛 make it any less hostile, nor any less illegal.
鈥淚t is a fundamental right of the Palestinian people not to be subjected to collective punishment by the State of Israel.鈥
The Gaza-based Al Mezan Center for Human Rights聽聽the seizure of the boat. It noted: 鈥淭he closure of Gaza is considered a collective punishment, illegal under international law.鈥
Israeli forces have a dark history of violent attacks on flotillas seeking to bring aid to besieged Gaza. The Electronic Intifada wrote: 鈥淚n the early hours of 31 May 2010, Israeli commandos聽聽in international waters as they tried to reach Gaza.
鈥淚sraeli forces carried out a particularly violent armed attack on the largest vessel,聽, killing nine persons. A tenth victim聽 鈥
鈥淭he International Criminal Court prosecutor聽聽that Israeli forces likely committed war crimes when they attacked the聽Mavi Marmara, but has declined to prosecute the perpetrators.鈥
As Israel attacked Al Awaa, another boat in the flotilla,聽Freedom, was heading towards Gaza. Get more information aout teh flotila and follow developments with the boats .