Hundreds of Israelis gathered outside the Turkish embassy in Tel Aviv Monday evening in protest against Ankara's involvement in the Gaza-bound aid flotilla.
Israeli commandos raided
the ships early Monday morning. At least 10 Palestinian activists were killed as the soldiers boarded one of the ships.
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| Soldier: Activists came for war / Amnon Meranda |
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(Video) Video footage shows brutal attack on troops on board Gaza-bound vessel; soldier says passengers fired at forces, beat them severely using metal bats, knives. ‘We landed barehanded, and they lynched us,’ he says |
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The demonstrators waved Israeli flags, sang the national anthem and called on the Turkish government not to intervene in Israel's affairs.
They also carried signs reading, "Provocation is not the path to peace", "Stop Hamas", "Free Gilad Shalit", "Killed and injured - and the Turks are pleased" and "Erdogan is an Islamo-fascist" – referring the Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who supported the sail to Gaza.
Likud Knesset Member Danny Danon, who participated in the rally, told Ynet, "The Turks should not teach us about human rights. I can only imagine what would have happened had a ship of terrorists reached Turkey's shores.
"We regret the deaths, but we are proud of our security forces," he added.
Tel Aviv rally (Photo: Dalit Shacham)
Fellow Likud parliamentarian Miri Regev addressed the participation of Arab-Israeli MK Hanin Zoabi (National Democratic Assembly) in the sail. "There are Trojan horses in the Knesset who support terror. We didn’t see a sail for the release of (kidnapped soldier) Gilad Shalit. The Turks know that humanitarian aid is transferred to Gaza on a regular basis."
Boaz Arad, who helped organize the rally said, "Erdogan's game is obvious – he wants to please the Arab world."
Another demonstrator, an Italian of Jewish descent, said, "I came to support Israel. I am sick and tired of the fact that we always have to explain ourselves."
During the rally eggs were thrown at the Turkish embassy.
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