A few days ago, the IDF boarded one of the so-called Freedom Flotilla boats on their way to Gaza with medical supplies as part of an expensive propaganda stunt designed to demonize Israel. Israel haters on board have complained of violence, but once again, the differing accounts don’t add up.
Here’s what one of the “activists” on board claimed:
Up to 30 troops in balaclavas then boarded his ship, using force to burst through groups of activists with linked arms, Treen alleged.
He said most of those on board the Al Awda were older, with an average age of 56, and that the ship’s captain had told the Israeli navy over the radio they had no right to board the vessel.
“This was an unlawful act, we were in international waters,” Treen said in Auckland Airport’s arrivals area.
“We had linked arms to make the point that we weren’t just surrendering without a protest.”
Treen said he and a Swedish man acted as a “last line of defence” by linking arms in front of the door leading to the captain’s bridge.
The soldiers then beat the Swede and stomped on Treen’s toes and tasered him in the cheek, before ordering the Al Awda’s captain to take the vessel to Israel, Treen alleged.
“They beat the [captain], then threatened to execute him … [it was] a savage and immediate beating of him,” Treen claimed.
Yet in another account, the captain himself complains of tasers and being hit in prison, but not being savagely beaten on the ship. Nor does he mention any threats to kill him.
As he arrived at Oslo International Airport, Karstein captain Herman Reksten also accused Israeli soldiers of shocking the activists with tasers.
“I still have a headache from being hit in prison,” he added.
And if that wasn’t fishy enough (see what I did there?), another “activist” complained of feeling like he was in a war zone, but did not accuse any soldiers of actual violence.
The sole Malaysian representative who was detained by the Israeli regime at the Givon Prison, Prof Madya Dr Mohd Afandi Salleh felt like being in a war zone when the flotilla ship Al-Awda which carried medicines to Gaza was captured by Israeli forces 49 nautical miles from the Gaza waters.
Mohd Afandi, who was met by reporters shortly after arrival at the KL International Airport (KLIA) last night, said the ship had been surrounded by 12 Israeli naval vessels including three warships although the ship was only carrying medical supplies and all equipments that could threaten the safety of the Israeli soldiers had been thrown out into the sea.
“In fact, I had even thrown out the forks into the sea because I did not want the Israeli soldiers to feel threatened. However, our ship was still surrounded by soldiers armed with machine guns and ordered to sail into Israeli waters,” he said.
In other words, they are lying. Not that this is surprising – it is what they do in order to generate sympathy for their morally bankrupt cause.
By the way, we have heard from the captain, Herman Rekstein, before. And while he claims to have been hit in prison, he’s lucky my previous predictions about him there did not come true.
At least that we know of.
