Okay, since the Israeli side has been heavily posted. Lets see what the activists themselves have to say. Here's one from an Omani Journalist for Gulf News on board the ship. By the way, if anyone doesn't like something that is said, you can contact the journalist directly via twitter and ask them any questions you have - Don't know if IDF will do that.
From tear gas to bullets: Gunshots shattered call to prayer
Everyone was crouching … I could hear louder bangs, see bright lights and hear helicopters, Gulf News reporter Abbas Al Latawi recounts flotilla attack horror
By Abbas Al Latawi, Staff reporter Published: 00:00 June 4, 2010
"Going to get some sleep. Action continues in a couple of hours. Hope we still have internet access."
That was one of my last few posts on Twitter before the partially successful Israeli media blackout on the Mavi Marmara, the biggest passenger ship on the Freedom Flotilla to Gaza which came under an Israeli attack that killed nine people.
The events since then have been a different experience for every person on the ship. As all reporters have been compiling their eyewitness accounts, here is my account of what happened.
After sending my last blog entry and twitter post, I changed into jeans and decided to take about two hours of sleep before the action started. I woke up at around 4.30am with the simultaneous sounds of bangs and the call to prayers, the azzan. Opening my eyes, I asked an Egyptian man beside me: "Are they attacking?" "Yes!" he said.
I rushed up to the press room, where everyone was crouching. I prepared my camera and went out to the deck, where I could hear louder bangs, see bright lights and hear helicopters. Small Israeli speedboats were just meters away from me, flashing their lights at everyone in view. I kept trying to get out of the light, afraid of being exposed enough to be targeted. I lifted my camera as I filmed the boat so they would know that I was a journalist, but then decided that filming them was perhaps as likely to get me shot.
Struggling to keep my shirt from flying off because of the wind that was being whipped up by the helicopter propellers, I was reminded that I did not have my life jacket on, having taken it off to go to sleep. When smoke started appearing, an activist handed me a handful of cut onions to smell, saying it would help in resisting the tear gas. I had no idea about the trick but continued sniffing on onion from one hand as I held my camera in the other.
I saw some impressively effective resistance. Men tasked with guarding the boat had resorted to using hosepipes to push trained Israeli commandos that were trying to climb the ship. Some were thrown into the sea by the pressure of the pipes. The pipes also briefly pushed away Israeli navy speedboats that had been firing tear gas canitsers and smoke bombs.
Other guards used any kind of makeshift weapon to defend themselves and their ship. Some used iron rods that once made the railing on the ships while others used sling shots and chairs.
Those activists who had gas masks on were tasked with picking up smoke bombs and tear gas canisters and throwing them off board or back at the Israeli speedboats. That method, too, prolonged the battle and led to the commandos' use of more serious weapons.
I then decided that I was standing too close to the speedboats for my own safety, and decided to assess the situation inside. That is where I learned that two Israeli soldiers had been disarmed and held captive.
I felt a sense of euphoria upon realising how big a news story this would be, but then had a sense of reality and realised that events on the boat had taken a horrible turn.
Angry activists
As I saw angry activists drag one of the Israeli soldiers down the stairs and punch him, I lost my journalistic objectivity and found myself urging the activist to stop hitting the soldier. Seeing the anger in the activist's eyes, I thought that he would kill him. I had images of the wars that Israel has waged over its captive soldiers, and the number of people that have died as a result of them. My thought was that if an Israeli soldier was to die on that ship, the entire flotilla would be bombed until it sank.
That was, of course, before I saw the bloodshed. The activists' anger was suddenly put in context when I saw a number of people carrying a dying man down the stairs. His face was unrecognisable, covered in blood. He was apparently one of the first to go down, after an Israeli gun targeted the centre of his forehead from a helicopter, spilling his brains into the hands of another activist who was trying to look after him.
Upon seeing his body I felt nauseous and had to take a step back and walk into the press room nearby. The Palestinian member of Israel's Knesset, Haneen Zoubi, walked into the press room, where everyone was ducking to avoid the windows as Israeli guns kept firing. Haneen had been on the deck outside where the battles were ongoing.
"What's going on outside?" I asked?
"What's going on? War is going on," she said.
I took a few deep breathes and went back to get some footage on my tiny HD camera. Still indoors, I remained by the staircase where, by now, the organisers of the flotilla had pushed aside activists and forbade them to hurt the soldiers. I took a few steps down to film the other captive soldier, struggling to keep my balance with so much blood under my feet. He stood in a corner being attended by two medics onboard, in shock, crying. (Oh God! These Israeli soldiers who were attacked were being tended to by medics. - Bad PR once again. Can't release that footage)
It was surreal. I knew that that soldier could destroy the entire flotilla, and thought I would get some close up footage of him. I took my camera as close as possible to his face and asked his name twice. He was too traumatised to answer. I could see fear of death in his eyes. He was petrified. Then I heard women screaming. "They are coming!"
The Israelis had taken control of the upper deck and were moving to the lower floors. Their target was the press room, where most of us had been causing the bad PR that Israel had been getting. I was right next to the press room and had to rush down to one floor below as the commanders started coming down.
I left my backpack in the press room with my passport, two of my three phones, my laptop, my still camera, watch, car and home keys, wallet, press accreditation, and a lot of cash. As the Israelis took over the press room, I had a feeling I was never going to get any of that back.
Blood from the injured ran in the stairwell of ship
Vessel was 74 nautical miles from Gaza when attacked
By Abbas Al Lawat, Staff ReporterPublished: 00:00 June 3, 2010
Israeli Navy troops storming the Mavi Marmara. The aid workers managed to keep Israeli soldiers off the ship for at least half an hour - using hosepipes and sticks to beat off a trained army. Image Credit: AFP
It was just before dawn prayers when smoke bombs were hurled onto the Mavi Marmara, the lead ship in the Freedom Flotilla carrying 700 humanitarian aid workers, journalists and diplomats.
Israeli forces first attacked the ship 74 nautical miles from Gaza — this is six miles from the extended Israeli zone.
The Mavi Marmara had defence teams in place, which donned gas masks and white gloves and promptly threw the smoke bombs off the deck into the sea.
The ship had altered its course slightly, in an attempt to buy more time, trying to ensure that any attack would be in daylight, when all were awake.
In the first of three attacks, the Israeli forces used paint pellet guns with paintballs mixed with glass.
They were repelled by the defence teams on deck, who used hosepipes to blast soldiers from the sides of the ship, after they tried to board from speedboats. Makeshift weapons were fashioned from items laying on the deck — as there were absolutely no weapons on board at all when the army attacked.
Rubber bullets
Chaos reined, with aid workers, defence teams and journalists running around on the deck in life jackets, trying to find out what was happening.
Helicopters overhead dipped, producing strong winds, which whipped up the sea.
In the second attack on the ship carrying aid to Gaza, the army used rubber bullets, which began to injure those on board.
A soldier landed on the deck and was overpowered by the teams, who threw his gun into the sea. He and another soldier were taken below deck, slightly injured in the scuffle. One sat in a corner, shivering, crying, refusing to speak when asked his name.
The organisers of the flotilla, the IHH, made an announcement, asking the teams to back off — once people saw blood flowing they became more aggressive. Blood from the injured ran in the stairwell, causing people to slip.
It was in the third attack that injuries turned to deaths. Four were killed in this third attempt to overpower the ship, with some bleeding to death from their injuries. Each round of attack was increasingly severe.
After live rounds started being fired, the ship gave in to surrender. Another announcement was made — in both English and Hebrew, that the ship had surrendered, it would no longer resist and that the Israelis had control. It also appealed for medical help for the injured.
An Israeli soldier held a one-year-old boy in one arm, gun in the other, and ordered the captain to take the ship to Ashdod. Organisers tried to make a deal with the army — their unharmed soldiers in return for the child, but the soldier simply repeated the same order.
Appeal
Four deaths turned into 16 by the time medical aid was provided — one and a half hours later. The hostages were lined up, sitting tightly on sofas and beds. Israeli soldiers kept their weapons trained on them, pointing them directly at their foreheads if they moved.
Haneen Zoubi, a member of the Knesset, wrote an appeal for medical aid on a piece of cardboard, and marched straight up to the Israeli soldiers, to no avail.
The aid workers managed to keep Israeli soldiers off the ship for at least half an hour — using hosepipes and sticks to beat off a trained army.
UN rights council: Probe gets go-ahead
The UN Human Rights Council yesterday adopted a resolution setting up an independent international probe into Israel's interception of Gaza-bound ships. The resolution, which also condemned Israel's "outrageous attack," was adopted after a vote, with 32 countries voting in favour, three against, and eight abstentions.
It "decides to dispatch an independent international fact-finding mission to investigate violations of international law, including international humanitarian aid and human rights law, resulting from the Israeli attacks on the flotilla of ships carrying humanitarian assistance."
The text also decides to "authorise the president of the council to appoint members of this independent international fact finding system."
— With inputs from AFP
Israel's flotilla attack came in three phases
There were absolutely no weapons aboard the Mavi Marmara as Israel claims, says Gulf News reporter Abbas Al Lawati who was witness to the carnage on aid ship to Gaza
By Abbas Al Lawati, Staff ReporterPublished: 15:00 June 2, 2010
Amman: A red laser dot appeared on his head, and seconds later he was shot dead. A member of the organisers rushed to his aid, only to have the man's brains spill out onto his hands.
This was the first death in the deadly attack on the Mavi Marmara — lead ship in the Freedom Flotilla carrying 700 aid workers, journalists and diplomats.
Israeli forces first attacked the ship 74 nautical miles from Gaza — six miles from the extended Israeli zone.
Israeli troops attacked the boat in three stages. The first attack came during dawn prayers when smoke bombs were thrown on deck. These were thrown overboard by the defence teams on board the ship.
Read special coverage of Freedom Flotilla
The Mavi Marmara tried to alter its course so that any further attack would occur during daylight, but the Israelis persisted and boarded the ship. They used paintball guns on passengers — the ammunition mixed with glass.
Israeli troops tried to board the ship from speedboats and the defence teams used hose pipes to prevent soldiers from boarding the vessel.
Makeshift weapons were fashioned from items lying on the deck, but there were absolutely no weapons on board the ship, as Israel claims. As chaos and panic swept the boat the Israelis began stage two, using rubber bullets. Once blood started flowing, anger mounted against the Israelis.
Gulf News statement on the Israeli attack
In the third attack, the injuries turned to deaths. Four people were killed instantly while 12 others bled to death. Finally, the captain surrendered and agreed to take the Mavi Marmara to the Israeli port city of Ashdod after an Israeli soldier pointed a gun at a one-year-old Turkish child.
— Abbas Al Lawati has been freed. He left Amman, Jordan, for Muscat, Oman, and was scheduled to arrive late last night.
Couple of points from press articles since the incident.
Point Number 1 - Weapons could have been attempted to brought in.
Reply: Really, would Hamas, Iran or now Turkey really use a public event to bring in weapons, especially with so many VIPs on board (MEPs. Knesset members, Press and others etc) I am sure they would love to be associated with terrorists. Weapons would have been stopped by Turkish Customs anyway.
Point Number 2- Initial news reports said a cache of pistols were found. Now proven untrue.
Point number 3 - There were millions of dollars on board. If this was true, the Israeli's would have been the first to show it.
Point 4 - These activists were there to cause trouble - No they were there to symbolically and peacefully breach the illegal blockade (which anyhow affects only the common person). UN themselves say Israel allows only a fraction of aid that should be coming in - just shows the mean intent of Israel. So what does your average Gaza suicide terrorist use for equipment - well rockets are made from home made stuff - bits of steel etc. The bombs themselves are made from household stuff like soap. So whats the point of this blockade? And, believe it or not the top guys from the state department have already met with certain Hamas bigwigs, its only a matter of time before they are accepted as a legitimate democratically elected government of Gaza.
Also, I wonder why IDF confiscated press laptops, camera's and cell phones. Perhaps, if these are released, we can see what the others saw from inside the ship and what went on from the other PoV
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Sanjay M, the attempted coup by secularist Turkish Army guys really screwed israel over. That was the end of pro-israeli's in the turkish army. Israeli backing was suspected in that apparently.
Just some food for thought.
and say that the UN Convention on the Law of the Seas permits interdiction on the high seas only in the limited cases of drug smuggling, arms smuggling, involvement in the slave trade etc. 
) and fight with commandos and die. I wonder what would happen if we attacked a Navy SEAL platoon with knives and rods.
