MARYLAND HEIGHTS, MO ( KTVI - FOX2now.com)—
A St. Louis holocaust survivor who was supposed to have been on board a ship stormed by Israeli commandoes is accusing the Israelis of gunning down unarmed civilians. Hedy Epstein traveled from St. Louis to the Mediterranean island of Cyprus to board the six-ship international flotilla attempting to run the Israeli naval blockade of the Gaza Strip. Because of visa problems, she was denied permission to board.So she sat in Cyprus, listening to the ship-to-shore radio, as Israeli commandoes dropped from helicopters onto the boats before dawn in international waters, 70 miles off the coast of Israel.
The Israelis claim protestors aboard the vessels opened fire first. Those on board the ships say the Israelis began firing indiscriminately. At the end, at least 10 protestors were killed, and dozens more injured. The six ships, with a cargo of relief supplies for Palestinians in Gaza, were taken to an Israeli port.
"I'm just totally furious," Epstein told Fox 2 via phone from Cyprus. "They attacked the boats and protestors in international waters. Their helicopters dropped commandoes onto the decks and they started shooting at random at whoever happened to be there."
Israel has imposed a naval blockade on Gaza since 2007, when the militant group Hamas was voted into power in Gaza. Israel has also sent troops into Gaza numerous times to attempt to stop rockets from being fired into Israeli civilian areas.
"I'm angry, I'm outraged, you name it, I'm it," Epstein said. "If any other nation committed an act of piracy like this in international waters, they'd be held accountable. I'm asking people in St. Louis to call or e-mail the Israeli consulate in Chicago to object."
Israel's consul in Chicago, Orli Gil, calls the flotilla a "political stunt."
"Israeli troops only opened fire after they were attacked first," Gil said. "The protestors were using sling shots, bats, knives, metal rod, and so on."
The government of Turkey, where the flotilla was launched, called the Israeli action "murder." Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cancelled a trip to the White House that had been scheduled for Tuesday.
