First hand accounts of attack?

Memnoch

I'm just wondering if there have been any first hand accounts of the attack from the journalists and humanitarians that were on board the ship since the Israelis kidnapped them.

Have any of them even been released by Israel?

My own feeling is that they will be held in limbo until the media storm dies down so that there is no challenge to the Israeli PR version of events. If anyone can find a link to first hand accounts from the journalists on board the ships please post them here.

halkar

So far a Turkish woman and her son have been released. She agreed to be extradited from Israel after being warned that jail conditions would be "too harsh" for the baby. Her husband and others are still under custody.

Turkish woman, 1-year-old son return from Israel

Turkey also sent air ambulance planes to bring injured from Israel.

wes

Israel has imposed a media backout according to the Guardian:

UN formally condemns Israel's deadly assault on Gaza aid flotilla

--SNIP--
Israel immediately imposed a communications blackout on the detained activists – some were taken by bus to Beersheva prison in the south of Israel – while simultaneously launching a sophisticated public relations operation to ensure its version of events was dominant. Its prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, who defended the assault, postponed today's meeting with Barack Obama at the White House back to deal with the crisis.
--SNIP--

So I think the OP, is right. Israel will only let these people go once they have told only there side of the story, and when the truth comes out about Israel murderous actions on innocent people, they hope people will have forgotten, but this seems to be failing pretty badly, as most people know damn well that Israel murdered those people, and had no right to be on that boat.

Memnoch

More accounts begin to leak out.. none so far from the main boat that was attacked though.

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/2010/06/20106193546785656.html

Issam Zaatar, Al Jazeera cameraman

"I was filming, and then he (an Israeli solider) ran after me with a stun gun.

"He could not catch me. One of his colleagues hit my hand from behind with a stun gun. My camera fell down. He ran to crush the camera with his feet.

"I told him, don’t break my camera. If you want the tapes, I will give them to you. I told him these are media equipment. They had no limits.

"They used rubber bullets. They used tear gas bombs. It was an unbelievable scene."

We finally have as expected reports from the journalists of how the Israelis made sure to obliterate the evidence of their crimes. Of course this wasn't on the official video released by the IDF, so it must not have happened.

wes

Well, I think it safe to say from the above account, that Israel is trying to suppress the truth of there murderous piracy, and there own lies and propoganda.