This Timeline & Inconsistencies Report was sponsored by the International Bureau of Humanitarian NGOs (IBH) and Friends of Charities Association (FOCA), in order to give close examination to the minute-by-minute timeline of events up to, and surrounding, the Freedom Flotilla humanitarian aid mission to Gaza. On May 31, 2010, the Israel Defense Force (IDF) attacked six ships in international waters; nine people on board the Mavi Marmara flotilla ship were killed, and many others injured.
The report takes information gathered from witnesses representing all sides to the incident, juxtaposed according to specific times. Compiled as a 100-page analysis, the report gives voice to each narrative along with supporting documentation, citations and evidence. This approach represents a departure from standard observations and shows the presentation of the cases of both parties in their own words so as to be judged solely upon merit. The report has been reviewed by a large number of international lawyers, many who specialise in the charitable arena, and was released in full on October 5th, 2010 as a PDF document.
Research was gathered based upon publicly available accounts from the flotilla organisers and participants, ships’ logs, the Israeli authorities, world news reports, international laws, the Mavi Marmara-sponsoring Foundation for Human Rights and Freedoms and Humanitarian Relief (IHH) report, and the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) report.
The Timeline element scrutinizes second-by-second actions as they happened, particularly as the attack escalated in intensity. The Inconsistencies portion of the report contrasts the different reporting of the incident, and includes clarifying analysis.
The backbone of evidence is film footage from the attack. Official videos from the IDF as well as the Israeli Eiland Team investigation video are used, in addition to video that escaped confiscation by the Israeli authorities. These videos were examined by media professionals on a frame-by-frame basis to determine whether or not computer-generated images were inserted to enhance a political argument.
Unaltered testimony from passengers who were taken into custody in Israel are incorporated to fill in the gaps to present a complete picture of exactly what transpired in the days after the interception, when no argument as to imminent threat to Israel could be justified.
The report concludes that there is an overwhelming consistency to the events that took place as verified independently by surviving passengers, in sharp contrast to the Israeli official version of actions. Of particular concern is the use of manufactured computer-imagery, used by the Israeli government to bolster her case in the international arena to prove the necessitation of live ammunition against unarmed humanitarian aid workers.
