- Human RightsPalestine
- September 30, 2010
- 4 minutes read
Hebrew media: Army used violence against Jews on aid ship to Gaza
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, The Israeli military used “unjustifiable violence” against Jewish activists on board the Irene humanitarian ship while en route to defy the imposed siege on the Gaza Strip, Hebrew media sources said, contrary to Israeli army claims that it took over the ship without clashes or “violent incidents”.
“The naval soldiers used violence without cause,” Israeli channel 10 news reported.
An Israeli peace activist on board the ship, Yonatan Shapira was hit with a taser gun and dragged to the military ship where he was bound alongside his brother.
Reuben Moskowitz, a holocaust survivor, confirmed that Israeli naval soldiers assaulted the Jewish passengers.
“It’s just immoral. What happened to me in the holocaust wakes me up every night and I hope we don’t do the same thing to our neighbors,” Moscowitz said, adding that he was comparing “what I went through during the holocaust to what the besieged Palestinian children are going through.”
“There are no words to describe what we went through during the army’s takeover of the ship, as – even though the activists did not use violence – the naval soldiers treated them with the utmost cruelty,” he added.
“There is big difference between what the IDF spokesman is saying and what really happened,” he went on to say.
Israel’s military spokesperson said Tuesday that no clashes occurred on board the ship and violence was not used during the seizure operation.
In other developments, Israeli Army Radio reported that Israeli diplomats on Tuesday said Israel’s image was becoming worse by the day since the Freedom Flotilla incident.
The Radio added that diplomats warn that Israel’s deteriorating image could be a serious problem, especially with ongoing settlement activity after the Goldstone report and the Freedom Flotilla attacks.
Israeli diplomats told the radio that all communications government officials have made in this regard have failed to justify Israel’s story.
“If Mahmoud Abbas agrees to continue peace talks in light of continued settlement activity, it is possible to get passed a part of the crisis the state suffers internationally,” Israeli diplomats said.