By IRNA,
London : A British captain, deported from Israel, has returned to the UK, relating the extent of the violence used by the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) in seizing a Jewish boat seeking to break the three-year siege of Gaza.
“It was only luck that there were not more deaths and another public relations disaster for Israel,” said Glyn Secker, who has sent an open letter to Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu, urging him to take “much firmer control” of his troops.
The 66-year old captain of the Jewish boat, Irene, violent, said that opposed to the “non-violent resistance” by the nine crew and passengers, the attack by Israel was “violent, reckless and very dangerous” as well as being “illegal.”
Secker is an executive member of Jews for Justice for Palestinians (JfJfP), which organized the latest attempt to break the Israeli siege of Gaza as “a message of solidarity to Palestinians and Israelis who seek peace and justice.”
According to a copy of his letter to Netanyahu, obtained by IRNA, he highlighted the way an IDF commander used an electric Taser, when singling out two of the passengers, Yonatan and Itamar Shapira, who refused to fight in the Israeli army.
“The commander fired his Taser twice into Yonatan’s shoulder, then with deliberation moved Yonatan’s lifejacket aside, placed his Taser directly over Yonatan’s heart and fired. Yonatan’s whole body went into spasm,” the letter said.
“It is illegal in the United States to Taser directly at the heart as this has caused deaths. The commandos could not have known whether Yonatan’s heart would have sustained this assault or not,” it said.
Other British Jews committed to social justice have spoken out in support of last month’s attempt to break Israel’s siege of Gaza and have call upon the international community to bring pressure on the Zionist regime.
Independent Jewish Voices Steering Committee (IJV) said that the sending of a Jewish boat once again called attention to the human rights crisis represented by Israel’s blockade, which is “a collective punishment” and “in violation of international law.”
“The vast majority of the people of Gaza are living in inhuman conditions. International pressure must be brought to bear on Israel to end the siege as well as its continuing occupation of, and expansion of illegal settlements on, Palestinian land,” IJV said.
Like IJV, JfJP state that it is crucial that Jews speak out as an alternative voice for Palestinians’ human rights.