Arabs testify before Turkel Committee
Flotilla passengers give testimony after shunning previous hearing; Balad lawmaker who was onboard vessel at time of deadly Navy raid attends session, but is not called to testify
After failing to appear to the first hearing, head of the Higher Arab Monitoring Committee Muhammad Zidan and Hamad Abu Dabus of Rahat on Monday testified before the Turkel Committee, which was appointed to probe the deadly Navy raid on a Gaza-bound flotilla in May.
The hearing was attended by Knesset Member Hanin Zoabi (Balad), who also participated in the flotilla.
"Many ships unload goods at al-Arish. The blockade harms the basic rights to life, and our humanitarian duty is to resist," he proclaimed.
Zidan testified that he and other participants were not screened before boarding the ship; however, he could not name the organizers of the flotilla.
MK Zoabi (right) and Zidan (Photo: Noam Moskowitz)
"Jamal Al-Khudari from Free Gaza Movement approached us and asked that we organize an Israeli-Arab delegation to the flotilla. I know that the IHH is outlawed in Israel, but I haven’t seen the organization's activists on the ship, nor did I come in contact with them," he noted.
'Passengers protected soldier'
After the first injured passengers were taken below deck, Zidan claimed MK Zoabi asked the soldiers to give them medical treatment, but was refused.The committee members questioned Zidan's testimony, saying that they have footage showing soldiers offering MK Hanin Zoabi medical assistance, but being refused by her under the assertion that IDF has no authority to give medical care on a ship.
The Higher Arab Monitoring Committee head was also asked by the committee whether he witnessed the events that took place on the deck, to which he replied that he was below deck the entire time and did not see a thing.
Zidan told the committee that he had not heard of passengers using metal poles to hit soldiers, noting he did not witness such a thing.
During the testimony, Zidan recalled seeing three Turkish passengers carrying an injured soldier below deck in order to give him medical treatment.
"The passengers protected the soldier," Zidan said, to which the committee members asked, "Why would the soldier need protection?"
Zidan replied that he meant protection in the sense of giving him medical treatment.
When the committee members noted that Gaza does not have a port big enough to accommodate a ship the size of the Mavi Marmara, Zidan replied that his role in the flotilla was that of a passive participant, and stressed that he was not involved in organizing the event and therefore could not answer technical questions.
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