ACTIVISTS' REPORT:THERE WAS no evidence to suggest peace activists travelling on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla had weapons, an Irishman who participated in the mission has said.
Shane Dillon, from Blackrock, Co Dublin, said the fire-fighting defences of the flotilla's largest ship, the MV Mavi Marmara, were activated when the Israeli commandos attempted to board, as was the norm in pirate attacks, and that rubbish bins were thrown from the deck.
He rejected Israeli claims that some of the activists were armed. “Any of the weapons I have seen demonstrated by the Israeli defence forces were typical equipment that you would have on a ship,” Mr Dillon, of the Irish Palestine Solidarity Campaign, said.
“There was a knife for a galley. They also showed a sledgehammer, which would be on a merchant vessel for anchor cables, etc.”
Speaking at a press conference in Dublin following his return from Israel on Tuesday, Mr Dillon said there was a screening system and electronic detectors on board the largest boat in the flotilla, the MV Mavi Marmara,to check it passengers for weapons.
He said when the Israeli commandos boarded Challenger 1, the activists engaged in "purely non-violent and verbal protection" to allow him time to upload video footage of the attack to the internet. He said the Israelis initially focused their attention on the journalist on board his ship as it appeared they did not want footage, photographs or reports of what had transpired to spread.
Mr Dillon said he was disgusted at the behaviour of the Israeli Defence Forces during the attack, in which nine people died. “To my mind it is an act of piracy – a terrorist act in international waters on a flotilla of people involved in a peaceful humanitarian aid mission to Gaza,” he said.
Fianna Fáil TD Chris Andrews, who was denied access to the flotilla by Cypriot authorities, said the raid was a pivotal moment, similar to Bloody Sunday, which could prove to be a turning point in Middle East relations.
“The similarities are frightening really when you think of the disproportionate use of firepower, the lockdown on information and the lies being told,” he said.
The Irish Government needed to lead from the front on the Gaza blockade by taking measures against Israel. He said the Israeli ambassador should be expelled.
