General

Israel frees over 120 flotilla activists after bloody attack

Government defends itself from worldwide criticism

Israel has deported more than 120 of the almost 700 foreign activists it detained after its attack on an aid flotilla to Gaza. Nine activists, including four Turkish, died after Israeli commandos boarded a convoy on Monday that was intending to break the blockade of Gaza, leading the Turkish parliament to call for a review of its relations with Israel and call for a formal apology and compensation to victims. With trade worth over $3 billion between the two countries, there is much at stake. Activists were taken to Jordan, with another 506 people, most of them Turkish, set to be deported soon. Israeli officials said only a small number of Israeli Arabs on the aid flotilla would face charges in court. Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barack thanked commandos who took part in the raid as he visited their base, just as the country’s government—despite criticism from around the world—insisted its forces were right to board the flotilla. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisted the world “must understand that [the ability to bar ships from Gaza] is crucial to preserving Israel’s security and to the right of the State of Israel to defend itself,” the Globe and Mail reports. “Gaza is a terror state funded by the Iranians, and therefore we must try to prevent any weapons from being brought into Gaza by air, sea or land,” he said.

BBC News
The Globe and Mail

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