Palestinian Authority President Mahmud Abbas on Monday declared three days mourning, while in Gaza Prime Minister Ismail Haniya declared a general strike in response to the morning’s lethal attack on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla by Israeli commandos.
The raid – which killed at least 19 activists and wounded 50 more bringing aid and construction materials to the besieged Gaza Strip – has provoked an international outcry.
A Gaza-wide national day called Freedom Day to commemorate the death of Flotilla activists was announced, with Haniya saying in a statement: ‘The day is to mourn the martyrs of the flotilla.’
He called on the UN Security Council to convene an emergency session to take action on what he called a crime in international waters.
Haniya said that every solidarity activist on board the ships will be awarded a badge of honour from the Gaza government, calling each of those killed by Israeli forces a ‘martyr for Palestine’.
He called on Palestinians worldwide to go out and demonstrate.
‘Four years are enough and the Arab world is watching,’ Haniya said, calling on Abbas to terminate proximity talks with Israel in light of the attack on the Flotilla, saying ‘it is not reasonable to continue talks in light of this crime’.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemned the violence, saying, ‘I am shocked by reports of killing of people in boats carrying supply to Gaza. I heard the ships were in international water. That is very bad.’ He called for a thorough investigation.
A White House statement says the US ‘deeply regrets the loss of life and injuries sustained, and is currently working to understand the circumstances’.
Turkey withdrew its ambassador to Israel and called for an emergency session of the UN Security Council.
The Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs said: ‘This grave incident which took place in high seas in gross violation of international law might cause irreversible consequences in our relations.’
The statement said ‘Israel has once again clearly demonstrated that it does not value human lives and peaceful initiatives through targeting innocent civilians.
‘We strongly condemn these inhuman acts of Israel.’
Ankara summoned Israel’s Ambassador, demanding an explanation on the raid. ‘Whatsoever the motives might be, such actions against civilians who are involved only in peaceful activities cannot be accepted. Israel will have to bear the consequences of these actions which constitute a violation of international law.’
Greece withdrew from joint military exercises with Israel in protest at the raid, as it summoned Israel’s ambassador to demand an ‘immediate’ report on the safety of about 30 Greeks on board the flotilla.
Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU), which had helped provide one of the flotilla’s ships, condemned the Israeli killings.
ICTU President Jack O’Connor and General Secretary David Begg said in a joint statement: ‘This was a callous attack on innocent civilians which showed an utter disregard for all precepts of international law and human rights.
‘The people on those boats were civilians engaged in peaceful humanitarian work, bringing much needed aid to the Gaza Strip and were no threat to anyone.
‘To launch a military assault on a humanitarian convoy is beyond the bounds of all that is acceptable and should be judged as such by the international community.
‘The assault was akin to the actions of a rogue state.
‘On behalf of the Irish trade union movement we would like to extend our sympathies to those killed and injured in this attack and we are thankful that the Irish contingent appears to be safe and well.
‘We lend our support to calls for an immediate suspension of the EU’s trade agreement with Israel and we also believe that the recent decision to accept Israel into full membership of the OECD should be reversed with immediate effect.’
A statement issued by UK Foreign Secretary William Hague called on Israel to open all crossings for aid to enter Gaza.
He said: ‘I deplore the loss of life during the interception of the Gaza Flotilla. Our Embassy is in urgent contact with the Israeli Government.
‘We are asking for more information and urgent access to any UK nationals involved.’
Hague added that while the UK has repeatedly advised against attempting naval access into Gaza ‘there is a clear need for Israel to act with restraint and in line with international obligations.
‘It will be important to establish the facts about this incident, and especially whether enough was done to prevent deaths and injuries.’
The incident, he wrote, underlines the need to lift the restrictions on access to Gaza.
He added: ‘The closure is unacceptable and counter-productive. There can be no better response from the international community to this tragedy than to achieve urgently a durable resolution to the Gaza crisis.’
He noted serious concerns ‘about the deterioration in the humanitarian and economic situation and about the effect on a generation of young Palestinians’.
The UN office for the Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process issued a statement saying it was ‘shocked by reports of killings and injuries of people on board boats carrying supplies for Gaza, apparently in international waters.’
‘We condemn the violence and call for it to stop,’ the statement said, noting UN officials were ‘in contact with the Israeli authorities to express our deep concern and to seek a full explanation.
‘We are also urging them in the strongest terms to ensure that no further steps are taken that could endanger civilian lives.
‘We wish to make clear that such tragedies are entirely avoidable if Israel heeds the repeated calls of the international community to end its counterproductive and unacceptable blockade of Gaza,’ the statement concluded.
Chief PLO negotiator Saeb Erekat described the raid as a war crime and said: ‘The unarmed civilian activists were attacked on foreign vessels while sailing in international waters.
‘This is another incident confirming that Israel acts as a state above the law. The international community must take swift and appropriate action.’
The European Union called for a comprehensive inquiry into deaths, and urged Israel to allow the free flow of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip.
France said that ‘nothing can justify’ the violence of the Israeli ship raid, while German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said he was ‘deeply concerned’ about the deaths.
EU High Representative Catherine Ashton released a statement via her spokesperson expressing deep regret at the news of loss of life.
‘On behalf of the European Union she demands a full enquiry about the circumstances in which this happened . . . She calls for an immediate, sustained and unconditional opening of the crossing for the flow of humanitarian aid, commercial goods and persons to and from Gaza,’ the spokeswoman said.
Arab League chief Amr Moussa said: ‘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. We are now conducting calls to Arabs to decide on our next step.’
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak condemned Israel’s ‘excessive and unwarranted use of force’ in its raid on the flotilla, and summoned the Israeli envoy in Cairo.
Lebanon Prime Minister Saad Hariri said the Israeli raid ‘represented a dangerous and insane step which will exacerbate regional tensions.
‘Lebanon strongly denounces the attack and calls on the international community, particularly the larger powers, . . . to take measures in a way that would put an end to these continuous violations of human rights and threats toward international peace’.
Police struggled to hold back an angry crowd of hundreds outside the Israeli consulate in Turkey’s biggest city Istanbul, while furious protesters shouted ‘Damn Israel’ outside the residence of the Israeli ambassador in Ankara.
Jordan firmly condemned Israel’s attack on the Freedom Flotilla with Minister of State for Media Affairs and Communications Nabil Sharif rendering the offensive, spearheaded by Israeli naval forces on the relief convoy, as ‘a heinous crime’.
‘This is rejected, unjustified and unprovoked belligerence and a gross breach of international laws and conventions,’ he added.
‘Jordan follows up the incident with deep concern . . . Tel Aviv is fully held accountable in regard to safety of Jordanian nationals aboard the convoy,’ he underlined.
Sharif, who is also the Jordanian government’s spokesman, urged the international community to promptly take necessary and unequivocal action to press Israel to lift the unfair blockade on the coastal strip, the Jordan News Agency wrote.
He added the Jordanian embassy in Tel Aviv conveyed a letter condemning the act.
Kuwait’s parliament speaker condemned the raid on the flotilla, which was carrying 16 Kuwaitis including an MP, as a ‘heinous Israeli crime’, as the cabinet prepared for an emergency meeting.
The bloody ending to the high-profile mission to deliver supplies to Gaza came on the eve of a meeting in Washington between President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu.