Freedom Flotilla: ‘Tasering my friend Charlie was an act of terrorism’

Despite the Israeli authorities’ claims that the seizure of a Freedom Flotilla boat was ‘uneventful’, footage has emerged that indicated that they tasered a Swedish aid worker.

The boats making up Freedom Flotilla 3 (FF3) have been prevented from reaching the besieged people of Gaza and deliver humanitarian aid. The flotilla’s flagship Marianne was boarded by the Israeli military and taken to the Israeli port of Ashdod earlier in the week. By now, some of the crew members have been released, while others remain detained.

Meanwhile, the boat I was meant to be on has not yet left a Greek port. It will head to Gaza at some point. I have been asked not to publish the details. But we will go.

The Israeli authorities claim that their soldiers were 'non-violent' as they took over the Marianne, which amounted to an illegal act of piracy, as the vessel was in international waters at the time it was intercepted. The Israeli authorities claimed that there were no injuries when they seized the boat which they had no right to do, legally or morally. The illegal act has been described as 'uneventful'.

Unsurprisingly though, footage has emerged which shows that the opposite is true. The video shows Arab member of the Israeli Knesset (parliament) Basel Ghattas, who I had long conversations with on my trip, first addressing the Israeli Navy before the soldiers boarded the Marianne. The footage then shows Israeli Navy thugs repeatedly tasering Swedish activist and humanitarian aid worker Charlie Andreasson.

Charlie has spent much time in Gaza. He's a really nice guy and a genuine individual, the kind of selfless character you meet when preparing for a campaign like this. I had the pleasure of talking with him many times as we prepared for Freedom Flotilla 3, and ate dinner with him just a few days ago.

I watched the video of Charlie being tasered and knew it was him before I even read the article.

It was a sickening feeling. According to Oxforddictoniaries.com a taser is 'a weapon firing barbs attached by wires to batteries, causing temporarily paralysis'. In reality though, tasering is an extremely violent act which can even cause death. There are campaign groups which lobby against the use of tasers by police for this very reason.

But this is how Israel routinely behaves. In typical fashion the Israeli leadership has sought to distract attention from its own crimes. Netanyahu wrote a letter published in the press and delivered to the activists on the boat. He says they must have gotten lost and perhaps should have headed to Syria. He exploits one tragedy to cynically justify another.

And here he does it again, suggesting that Israel is a beacon of light, justice, surrounded by hostile neighbors in the Middle East trying valiantly to uphold those oh so cherished values we hold dear. You can almost hear the harps playing and the angels singing when you read the letter his press office wrote for him on his behalf. He invites the readers to be "Impressed by the only democracy in the Middle East".

Well Benjamin, we invite you to go to Gaza and to see what Israel's democracy looks like if you happen to be a Palestinian and born in Gaza. He says that the leadership in Gaza is "using children as human shields.” Perhaps this comment is written by Netanyahu's office to deflect attention from the fact that Israel killed hundreds of Palestinians last year including many children, and has done so since 1948.

UPDATE: "Marianne" sailors still imprisoned in Israel https://t.co/sQhWnS8xAW#FreedomFlotilla#ReleaseFlotillaSailors

— Freedom Flotilla (@GazaFFlotilla) July 1, 2015

Netanyahu claims that the people on the flotilla were bringing weapons to Gaza. This is false and nothing but an attempt by Israel to save face in the wake of yet another act of piracy committed at sea. They have to say that we are terrorists, because as it is, the world forming a much clearer picture as to the true extent and nature of Israel's war crimes.

I'll end here with a story that Charlie told me once when we were sitting down talking, in the company of two other activists.

Charlie told of a time he was in Gaza, and saw a young man shot by an Israeli soldier, possibly a sniper, as they found themselves under attack as is routine in Gaza.

Palestinian people in #Ramallah protesting in solidarity with the #FreedomFlotilla@GazaFFlotilla#FreeFlotillaSailorpic.twitter.com/C5etvwdFnn

— awni farhat (@awnifarhat) June 30, 2015

Charlie and whoever else was there couldn't help the Palestinian man as they were still being shot at. They had to watch him die, unable to reach him as he lay just a few feet away. They then had to inform the father that his son was dead-while the body of his son still lay in the road, unable to be recovered. The boys’ father thanked them.

I've never even seen the image of this happening, but yet I can't shake it from my mind. Charlie is a brave person and didn't deserve the treatment he got by the Israeli navy.

The Israeli soldiers are brainwashed and carrying out the work of Netanyahu's war criminal regime. The sooner people wake up to this the better.

The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of RT.