Reactions to the Gaza flotilla raid
Israel expressed regret over loss of life in the Gaza flotilla raid, yet stated that the operation was a "clear case of self defense".
Twelve Latin American countries condemned Israeli actions: Argentina,[4] Bolivia,[5] Brazil,[6] Chile, Cuba, Ecuador, Mexico, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela.
Twenty-three European countries condemned or protested Israeli actions: Albania, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.
Thirteen non-Arab Asian countries condemned Israeli actions: Brunei, China, India, Indonesia, Iran, Japan, Malaysia, Maldives, North Korea, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Turkey and Uzbekistan.
[citation needed] Unofficial responses included civilian protests against Israeli action following reports of the deaths aboard the MV Mavi Marmara.
Several journalists accused Turkey of aligning itself with Iran, Syria, Hamas and Hezbollah, and expressed concern over the contribution of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his government to fueling public rage.
Association of Southeast Asian Nations condemned the Israeli attack, called on Israel to lift its blockade of Gaza, expressed solidarity with Turkey, and urged the UN to conduct an investigation.
[17] The result of the meeting was that the NATO Secretary General issued a statement expressing "deep regret" over the loss of lives and "As a matter of urgency, [he] also request[ed] the immediate release of the detained civilians and ships held by Israel.
[19] The Southeast European Cooperation Process, at a meeting of the 13 member countries in June 2010, condemned Israel's raid and demanded an impartial, independent and internationally credible investigation.
[21][22] The Australian Jewish Democratic Society said, "Unless the Israeli government can convincingly back up its claims that the Gaza aid convoy was not a project for delivering humanitarian aid to Gaza, but in reality a front for violent action, it invites the condemnation of everyone who supports negotiated conflict resolution and reinforces the view that Israel's professed support for human rights is a sham.
This brutal attack took place in international waters on ships bearing humanitarian aid for our brethren, the Palestinian residents in the besieged Gaza Strip.
[42] In Tel Aviv, leftist and rightist demonstrators clashed on 5 June 2010, as more than 6,000 citizens gathered to protest the Israeli raid against the aid convoy.
[citation needed] On 1 June 2010, in Malaysia, a man performed a personal protest before the United States embassy at Jalan Tun Razak when he "slashed himself with a penknife on the thighs and chest" to express his disapproval of the Israeli attack.
[51] In Greece, thousands of protesters marched on the Israeli Embassy in Athens, sparking clashes with police, the deployment of tear gas, five arrests and many injuries.
[45] Twenty-one cities in Sweden, including Gothenburg and Malmö, held demonstrations, with thousands of protesters clutching Palestinian flags as they marched on the Israeli Embassy in Stockholm, while speakers expressed their "disgust and dismay".
[53] In Italy, there were protests in many cities, including Rome, where one speaker said the situation was "extremely serious and has no precedent whatsoever in the history of international diplomacy".
[59] During 1–5 June, thousands of people rallied throughout various cities across the United States and Canada to protest the flotilla raid and the subsequent seizure of the MV Rachel Corrie and its crew, including Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and Vancouver.
The Israeli embassy in Dublin was blockaded by dozens of people, causing its closure for the day but authorities deemed it a peaceful protest and no arrests were made.
[71] Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim was among protesters who gathered outside the US embassy along Jalan Tun Razak in Kuala Lumpur, disrupting traffic for several hours.
[72] On 5 June further demonstrations were organised in the United Kingdom, with the Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign leading a three-thousand strong march in Edinburgh.
[74] On 7 June 2010, approximately 200 mostly Muslim students threw stones at a group of Israelis while chanting "Murderers", and subsequently broke the window of the police car that they took refuge in.
[77][78][79] A large and fierce protest was held in front of the Turkish embassy, which included slogans such as "Shayetet 13, we are with you," "We are all the IDF," "Cold weapons kill."
Protesters also accused Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan of "supporting terrorism" and equated him with Osama Bin-Laden and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Notable attendees included Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Poizner, actor Jon Voight, Republican Senate contender Chuck DeVore, Representative Brad Sherman and Rabbi Marvin Hier of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, Los Angeles City Controller Wendy Greuel, City Council members Paul Koretz and Janice Hahn, Judea Pearl, and David Pine of Americans for Peace Now.
Mohammad S. Shakir, a Muslim and director of the Asian American Advisory Board in the Miami-Dade County Office of Community Advocacy, made a speech.
[10] On 2 June, in London the Zionist Federation of Great Britain and Ireland organized a pro-Israel rally in front of Israeli embassy.
According to Boaz Torporovsky, President of the Student Union, the plan is to send a flotilla of ships "to deliver much-needed humanitarian assistance to the Kurds of Turkey".
"[91] A Rasmussen Reports national telephone poll in the United States of 1000 voters found that 49% of respondents blame pro-Palestinian activists on the Gaza bound aid ships for the deaths that resulted.
[98][99][100][101] The United Nations Human Rights Council passed a resolution by 32 votes to 3, with a number of abstentions, in which it condemned in the strongest terms the outrageous attack by the Israeli forces that resulted in the killing and injuring of many innocent civilians from different countries, and decided to dispatch an independent international fact finding mission to investigate violations of international law resulting from the Israeli attack.
