Wallander author says Gaza flotilla attack was a brutal act of piracy

The Times - London
.....“When we saw the commandos coming in their inflatable boats, with masks, we all went up to the bridge. When they boarded the ship we were there with our hands behind our heads.

“Even though we didn’t do anything some of the soldiers were brutal. One member of the crew, an old man, maybe a little slow, was shot in the arm with an electric gun. This is very painful and he fell to the ground.

“We were on the ship for another 11 hours, not allowed to move around except to go to the toilet at certain times, with no food, just water and some biscuits.

“Once we were in Israel I was taken to see a policeman. I asked him, ‘What am I accused of?’

“He told me, ‘We charge you with entering Israel illegally.’

“I replied, ‘But you brought me here!’ But there was no discussion. I was sent to a prison to be deported; 30 hours later I was taken to the airport....

“At sea and on land the soldiers used a lot of violence. The Israelis were taking photos to put into everyone’s file. In the case of one man, however, they wanted his fingerprints, too. When he objected — ‘No, no, I have not done anything’ — they started beating him with their fists.........

“For me it is still very difficult to understand: why did they choose to do this? If they really wanted to stop us, why did they not wait until we were close to their territorial waters, and say ‘You can’t go any further’? They could have very quickly taken out the rudder and the propeller of our ship. We would have been stuck. No one would have been hurt.....  Full story