Israeli Attack on Mavi Marmara is Abominable Crime :Hamas

Gaza, MINA – Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem said Sunday that Israeli attack on Turkish aid ship Mavi Marmara in 2010 was abominable crime that exposed Israeli sadism in the midst of Gaza occupation.

“The attack on the ship, which carried civilian activists aimed at destroying the siege in the Gaza Strip and providing assistance to those trapped there, is considered one of the most heinous crimes in human history,” Qassem said in an interview on the 10th anniversary the Mavi Marmara incident, Anadolu Agency reported

In May 2010, 10 activists on board the Mavi Marmara, including Turkish nationals and an American of Turkish origin were killed when Israeli navy stormed the ship in international waters as it sought to break a land and sea blockade on Gaza which has been in place since 2007. Some 50 others were wounded.

The ship was part of a “Gaza Freedom Flotilla” carrying humanitarian aid and construction materials for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

The Humanitarian Relief Foundation, a Turkish NGO, said in a statement Tuesday that prosecutors for the International Criminal Court had completed their investigation of the incident and concluded that Israel had committed “war crimes.”

The incident “confirmed the noble behavior of these martyrs, who gave their lives in defense of humanitarian principles and in support of those trapped,” Qassem said. (T/R6/RE1)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)