Close to 500,000 Jews live in more than 100 settlements (colonies) built by Israel since its 1967 occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem. These "settlements" are illegal under international law.
24,145 houses have been demolished in the occupied territories since 1967, including the 4,247 that the United Nations estimated were destroyed during Israel's military assault on Gaza in December 2008 and January 2009.
In late May, Irsaeli military attack the ships in international waters killing several people and injuring 50.
Turkish television pictures taken on board the Turkish ship leading the flotilla appeared to show Israeli soldiers fighting to control passengers. The footage showed a number of people, apparently injured, lying on the ground. A woman was seen holding a blood-stained stretcher. Al-Jazeeratelevision reported from the same ship that Israeli navy forces had opened fire and boarded the vessel, wounding the captain. The Al-Jazeerabroadcast ended with a voice shouting in Hebrew, saying: "Everybody shut up!".
The complete footage from the Turkish TV film.
Most of the people on board the boats were Turkish. According to the AFP news agency, Turkey states that it "strongly condemn[ed] these inhumane practices of Israel". The passengers also included a Nobel laureate, several European legislators, a Swedish author and people from the USA, UK, Australia, Greece, Canada, Malaysia, Algeria, Serbia, Belgium, Ireland, Norway, Sweden, Australia, Egypt (including two MPs) and Kuwait (including, Waleed Al Tabtabai, an MP). Women and children and elderly people were on board along with many doctors, teachers and journalists.
Releatives of UK citizens on the ships have told the UK newspaper, The Guardian, that the UK Foriegn Office has refused to help its citizens. Israel denies access to the survivors.
In Turkey, dozens of protesters tried to storm the Israeli consulate in the Istanbul, while Israeli ambassadors have been summoned to the Turkish, Greek, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Jordanian and Spanish foreign ministries to explain what happened. Greece, which also has ships in the flotilla, withdraws from joint military exercises with Israel in protest at the attack on the Gaza flotilla. Demonstrators in Jordan call for the closure of the Israeli embassy. The European Union calls for an independent enquiry and an end to the siege of Gaza. The Arab League condemnned the attack:"We condemn this crime, taken against a humanitarian mission and people. They were trying to help people. They were not on a military mission. Everyone should condemn this." The banned opposition in Egypt, the Muslim Brotherhood, call for an and to the siege and Egypt's part in it. The newly elected UK deplores the deaths and also calls for and to the siege. Russia condemned the attack and called for an end to the siege: "Use of weapons against civilians and detaining ships in the open sea without any legal reason constitute obvious and gross violations of generally accepted legal standards."
The USA (which in recent weeks had been condemning North Korea for attacking a South Korean ship) remains silent for most of the day and then opposes an independent enquiry preferring it to be run by the Israelis themselves.
According to the BBC web site "Israel and Egypt tightened a blockade of Gaza after the Islamist movement Hamas took power there in 2007."
"All the images being shown from the activists on board those ships show clearly that they were civilians and peaceful in nature, with medical supplies on board. So it will surprise many in the international community to learn what could have possibly led to this type of confrontation."
The BBC television coverage briefly shows the attack and then shows two Israeli spokesmen putting their side of the story, blaming the victims and calling the passengers terrorists. No Gazans or Turks are interviewed. The victims are referred to as "pro-Palestinian activists".
A USA protestor, Emily Henochowicz (21) loses an eye after having a tear gas cannister fired into her face by an Israeli soldier at a checkpoint in the occupied West Bank.
When survivors of the flotilla raid are released telling of being beaten and having all their possessions taken away, the BBC does not cover any of the stories. The autopsy results of the Turkish victims shows that five were shot in the back of the head or the back of the body from close range. This story is also not covered by the BBC. An audio tape of exchanges between the flotilla and the Israeli military is aired as fact in many USA media outlets and is later found to have been edited to add insults to Jews.
Israeli government spokesmen had to apologise for distributing a video that mocked the flotilla members, some of whom died in the Israeli raid. The video, a satire, shows a group of singers declaring, "There's no people dying. So the best that we can do, Is create the greatest bluff of all. We must go on pretending day by day that in Gaza. There's crisis hunger and plague."
The United Nations had declared Gaza to be in the midst of a humanitarian crisis.
In September, another boat attempting to break the blockade of Gaza is captured by Israel in international waters. The crew were Jewish activists from the USA, UK and Israel.
According to the report, the largest number of arrests occurred in the city of Hebron where 90 people were detained including 15 children.
KryssTal Opinion: These sttlements are illegal so in effect the USA is bribing Israel not to break international law.
