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Palestinian activist supports Israel’s account of deadly 2010 flotilla incident

A pro-Palestinian activist involved in the infamous 2010 Gaza flotilla, verified the Israeli account of the events that led to several deaths.

By: JNS.org

A leading pro-Palestinian activist involved in the Mavi Marmara flotilla, which set out to infiltrate Israeli waters on the way to Gaza in May 2010, has now verified Israel’s version of the events that led to several deaths and a major diplomatic impasse between Israel and Turkey.

Eight Turkish and one Turkish-American activists were killed after IDF commandos attempted to take control of the illegal vessel as it made way from Turkey to Hamas-controlled Gaza in contravention of an Israeli security perimeter aimed at preventing the terror group from importing arms.

Posting in a secret pro-Palestinian British Facebook group, co-founder and spokesperson of the Free Gaza Movement Greta Berlin argued that Israeli troops did not open fire until after Ken O’Keefe, a former U.S. Marine aboard the Mavi Marmara, wrested a gun from one of the soldiers.

“He was responsible for some of the deaths on board the Mavi Marmara,” wrote Berlin. “Had he not disarmed an Israeli … soldier, they would not have started to fire. That’s enough. Most of you have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Berlin’s comments, which were posted to the Palestine Live group in 2014, were uncovered by researcher and blogger David Collier, who also revealed the membership of Britain’s Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn.

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The IDF commandos reported being attacked with clubs, knives and metal rods as they descended to the boat on ropes from helicopters, with three soldiers being taken captive.

However, the activists—including Berlin, who was not on the vessel—consistently claimed that Israeli forces opened fire as soon as they boarded. Both Berlin and Corbyn used their version of events to blast Israel in the public forum.

“You think it was smart that he took the gun away from these crazies on board the MM [Mavi Marmara]?” Berlin asked in another post. “Then hid it so that the Israelis could say they found a gun on board? Right.”

O’Keefe had previously said Israel “must be destroyed,” and that the Jewish state was “directly involved” in the 9/11 attacks.