Netanyahu ignores calls for investigation of raid
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Edmund Sanders - June 3, 2010 - 12:00am

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave a vigorous, unapologetic defense Wednesday of his government's deadly raid of a protest flotilla bound for the Gaza Strip, ignoring international calls for an independent probe into the incident. Netanyahu's televised comments, his first to Israelis since the high-seas military operation killed nine activists on a Turkish-flagged vessel early Monday, did little to appease critics who say Israel used excessive force.

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Gaza flotilla: Sarah Colborne's account
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Robert Booth - June 3, 2010 - 12:00am

On Sunday 30th we set off together. We had assembled all the boats in international waters. At 11pm that night, Israeli naval boats were detected on the radar and sighted and a decision was made to move further back into international waters, further from Israel.

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Henning Mankell on Gaza flotilla attack: 'I think they went out to murder'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Kate Connolly - June 3, 2010 - 12:00am

The bestselling Swedish crime writer Henning Mankell today accused Israel of murder, piracy and kidnapping after describing how the aid ship he was travelling on was seized by Israeli forces this week. Mankell, whose detective novels featuring the commissar Kurt Wallander have sold almost 30m copies worldwide, was aboard the Swedish ship Sofia, one of six ships in the flotilla carrying aid to Gaza. The 25-strong crew, including Mankell, were all arrested and held in custody.

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Don’t Save Israel this Time!
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat
by Tariq Alhomayed - June 2, 2010 - 12:00am

I preferred to follow the Western visual media’s coverage of the crime that was committed by Israel against the humanitarian aid ships headed for Gaza that caused the deaths of around 20 people from Arab and international organizations rather than following Arab visual media coverage. Our media wants to spread the spirit of provocation instead of presenting information. It wants to increase escalation instead of helping us understand the consequences of what happened and how this battle with Israel should be dealt with so that Israel does not escape the consequences.

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Spin doctors cannot hide Israel’s actions
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
June 2, 2010 - 12:00am

The Israeli prime minister’s spokesman Mark Regev once explained to an Australian reporter how he could chew and talk at the same time. This week Mr Regev tested his ability to speak with a foot planted firmly in his mouth.

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Israel: remember 1947 and the Exodus ship
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Richard Irvine - June 2, 2010 - 12:00am

No one can accuse history of not having a sense of irony. Sixty-three years ago, in July 1947, a passenger ship destined for Palestine and named the Exodus was stopped and boarded by the British navy. The ship was crowded with Holocaust survivors determined to make a new life for themselves in British-controlled Palestine. The British, facing Zionist terrorism and trying to keep promises made to the Palestinian Arabs to limit Jewish immigration, were determined to stop it. Accordingly, when the Royal Navy boarded the ship 20 miles out from Haifa, a full-scale battle ensued.

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Turkish Funds Helped Group Test Blockade of Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Michael Slackman, Sabrina Tavernise - June 2, 2010 - 12:00am

ISTANBUL — Since 2007, a small group of hard-core activists has repeatedly tried to sail cargo-laden ships into Gaza in an effort to thwart Israel’s blockade. But when the Free Gaza Movement teamed up with a much wealthier Turkish organization to assemble a flotilla, it became more than a nuisance, supercharged by the group’s money, manpower and symbolic resonance into what Israel sees as a serious and growing threat.

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US response to Israel’s flotilla raid will shape the Middle East
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Suat Kiniklioglu - June 2, 2010 - 12:00am

I am the only Turkish politician who has visited Israel since Israel unleashed the Gaza war in 2008, and the Davos incident in 2009 between Israeli President Shimon Peres and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan highlighted the differences between our countries. I have many friends in Israel, and I did not hesitate to visit Israel when an invitation was extended to me by an Israeli think tank. Despite the many challenges, I maintained my optimism that Turkey and Israel would be able to mend their differences despite their disagreements over the humanitarian situation in Gaza.

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Israel and the Blockade
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
(Editorial) June 2, 2010 - 12:00am

The supporters of the Gaza-bound aid flotilla had more than humanitarian intentions. The Gaza Freedom March made its motives clear in a statement before Monday’s deadly confrontation: “A violent response from Israel will breathe new life into the Palestine solidarity movement, drawing attention to the blockade.” There can be no excuse for the way that Israel completely mishandled the incident. A commando raid on the lead, Turkish-flagged ship left nine activists dead and has opened Israel to a torrent of criticism.

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Accounts, videos of flotilla assault continue to conflict
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Mary Beth Sheridan, Scott Wilson - June 2, 2010 - 12:00am

Under a moonlit sky, Huwaida Arraf, a graduate of American University's law school, watched from a small ship early Monday as Israeli commando boats pulled up to the Mavi Marmara, a vessel filled with about 600 activists hoping to breach an Israeli blockade of Gaza.

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