Israel

The Gaza Flotilla Raid: What Happened On The Ship? (VIDEO)

Justin Elliott | June 4, 2010, 6:19PM

Injured being evacuated after Israeli raid on flotilla

Monday's raid by Israeli naval commandos on a ship bearing medical, construction, and other supplies for the Gaza Strip resulted in the deaths of at least nine civilians. Many aspects of the episode -- the blockade, the run-up to the confrontation, the law governing international waters, etc. -- are being fiercely contested. But what about what actually happened when Israeli commandos boarded the Mavi Marmara?

The Gaza-bound boat was 80 miles from the Israeli coast with nearly 600 passengers on board when Israel soldiers from the naval special forces unit Shayetet 13 boarded the vessel in the dark early Monday morning.

The basic competing narratives are: the passengers mobbed the soldiers with crude but effective weapons, prompting the soldiers to fire bullets in self defense vs. the soldiers fired live weapons indiscriminately, starting from the helicopter above before they even boarded the ship.

But let's take a closer look at the various written and video accounts.

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AIPAC

Code Pink: We're Behind Hoax AIPAC Demand For Settlement Freeze

Justin Elliott | March 22, 2010, 2:45PM

Code Pink's Medea Benjamin

Medea Benjamin of Code Pink tells TPMmuckraker that the left-wing activist group orchestrated the bogus AIPAC press release calling for a settlement freeze that got picked up by several major news organizations today.

Benjamin says she and a colleague stood outside the AIPAC conference hall today dressed in suits and handed out copies of the statement to confused attendees.

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Israel-Palestine

GOP Senate Contender Kirk Is Favorite Of Pro-Israel PACs

Justin Elliott | February 4, 2010, 11:28AM

Rep. Mark Kirk (R-IL)

Republican Rep. Mark Kirk enters the Illinois Senate race as the member of the House who has consistently reaped the biggest contribution totals from pro-Israel PACs, making a name for himself through five terms in Congress as a hardline leader on legislation relating to the Israel-Palestine conflict.

Kirk, who is considered a moderate Republican on most issues, sailed to an easy victory in the GOP primary this week and goes into the general election race as a strong contender for Barack Obama's old Senate seat.

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