Just Journalism
'Death in the Med': Online Q & A doesn't reflect Panorama investigation
20 August 2010
As part of its coverage of the incident aboard the Mavi Marmara, the BBC News website has an explainer article that seeks to provide at-a-glance information on every aspect of the controversy. However, ‘Q&A: Israeli deadly raid on aid flotilla’ does not appear to have been amended to reflect all of the facts that have come to light since the initial story broke, many of which were documented in the BBC’s Panorama investigation into the incident, ‘Death in the Med’ which was aired on Monday 16th August.
Below, Just Journalism contrasts the original answers in the Q & A, with the relevant new information, much of which is strongly corroborated by footage contained in the Panorama documentary.
This piece has been sent to the BBC, and Just Journalism will monitor for a response.
‘Who started the violence?'
This is disputed. The activists say the commandos started shooting as soon as they hit the deck. Israeli officials say the commandos fired in self-defence. Video clips show activists wielding something that looks like a baseball bat and other objects, Photographs have also been produced of metal bars, slingshots and knives. Israel says the activists used axes and fired shots from a gun taken from the soldiers.
From Panorama, it seems clear that the activists initiated the violence. Footage shows the initial attempt by the IDF to access the Mavi Marmara was unsuccessful, with a dinghy of soldiers being subjected to a barrage of hurled objects. The Israeli soldiers who then rappelled on board were attacked as soon as they landed. None of the footage shows the Israeli solders firing lethal weapons; indeed, Panorama included audio recordings of Israeli soldiers claiming that they were being shot at. Maj-Gen Eiland, the head of the IDF investigation, also stated that there was evidence of shots being fired from a gun that was not in use by the IDF commandos. Aside from the photographs and the video clips of ‘something that looks like a baseball bat’, Panorama also included footage of activists sawing metal poles off the ship to use as weapons.
‘What was purpose of the flotilla?'
It wanted to deliver aid to Gaza, to break an Israeli and Egyptian blockade on the territory. According to the UN, Gaza receives about one quarter of the supplies it used to receive in the years before the blockade was tightened in 2007. The ships were carrying 10,000 tonnes of goods, including school supplies, building materials and two large electricity generators.
Jane Corbin, the presenter of Panorama, reported that two thirds of the medicine was out of date, and as such, useless.
The activists also say they wanted to make the point that, in their view, the blockade is illegal under international law.
Although this may have been the case for many of those aboard the ship, footage shows that some of the activists were also aiming for a direct and violent confrontation with Israel. Bulent Yidirim, the head of IHH, is shown on Panorama saying ‘We’re going to defeat the Israeli commandos –we’re declaring it now. If you bring your soldiers here, we will throw you off the ship and you’ll be humiliated in front of the whole world.’ The programme also showed a man stating that he hoped to be martyred on the voyage.
‘Who organised it?'
A group called The Free Gaza Movement, an umbrella organisation of activist groups from numerous countries, and a Turkish group called the IHH (Foundation for Human Rights and Freedoms and Humanitarian Relief). The Israeli government says the IHH is closely linked to Hamas, and is a member of another organisation, the Union of the Good, which supports suicide bombings. However, the Turkish government regards the IHH as a legitimate charity, and urged Israel to let the flotilla through.
It has not always been the case that the Turkish government regarded the IHH as a legitimate charity. Indeed, in 1999 it was so suspicious of the IHH that it prevented the organisation from helping in the disaster relief following an earthquake in Turkey. The former governor of Istanbul also froze the charity’s bank accounts, and their offices in that city were raided by Turkish authorities, who then said they had uncovered bomb-making materials and a ‘jihadist flag’.
‘Why did Israel want to stop the flotilla?
Israel and Egypt prevent a large range of goods from reaching Gaza, in order to put pressure on the Hamas government. These include cement and scaffolding, which it says can be used to make launchers for rockets, but also a range of other goods which do not undermine Israeli security.
In the wake of the intense international focus on the Gaza blockade following the events aboard the Mavi Marmara, Israel switched from using a ‘permitted goods’ to a ‘forbidden goods’ list, which means that only goods that can be used for military purposes are now prevented from entering.
Israel also wanted to check that the ships did not contain deliveries of weapons or cash. It offered to allow the flotilla to land in an Israeli port, and to deliver by road any goods that passed its checks.
These offers were repeatedly refused by the Mavi Marmara. The other five ships in the flotilla did re-route themselves and completely avoided any violent confrontation with Israel.
Some previous flotillas have been allowed to reach Gaza, others have been turned round and sent back. It is not clear why this one was greeted by a commando-style raid. It may have been because of the size of the largest boat, the Mavi Marmara carrying nearly 600 passengers, which made it difficult to board by pulling up alongside.
‘What are the key unanswered questions?'
It remains unclear whether the commandos' lives were in danger when they opened fire, whether all the dead activists were attacking at the time they were shot, and whether they were all armed and what with.
The programme shows both video evidence and testimony from soldiers that once on board, the soldiers were violently attacked with metal poles, and two soldiers were stabbed, clearly showing that there lives were in danger. Murat Akinan, an IHH volunteer, described how he had to persuade fellow passengers not to kill a stabbed soldier who had been taken down below.
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