The foundation held a press conference yesterday to deny those claims. Israel alleges that the activists aboard one of the ships -- the Mavi Marmara, where Israeli commandos killed nine civilian peace activists -- had attacked the military. İHH executive board member Hüseyin Oruç said the activists had a right to self-defense when Israeli soldiers attacked their ship in international waters with bombs and bullets. “When Israeli soldiers were killing our brothers, we were treating their injured soldiers. They are slandering the very people who taught them a lesson in humanity.” He showed a picture of an Israeli soldier being treated by a Turkish doctor aboard the Mavi Marmara.
Oruç also denied claims that the İHH was linked to al-Qaeda. “I’m one of the people they say is a terrorist. I was interrogated for hours for three days straight -- but they are making these claims after they released us. Why was I released if I am a terrorist? Why didn’t they ask about these terrorism claims when they were interrogating us?” he asked.
Ercan Kayrak, one of the doctors who was aboard the Mavi Marmara, said he and his colleagues began tending the wounded -- including three Israeli soldiers -- during the course of the Israeli raid. “We completed the treatment under hygienic conditions. Then I got out on the deck to deliver the three Israeli soldiers we had treated. They shot me in the chest and in the shoulder. If a friend had not pulled me back inside, I too would have died.” “We acted humanely, but Israel fired bullets at humanity,” the doctor said.
