Israel storms aid ship
Ten dead as Israel storms aid ship
One of six ships bound for Gaza is seen in the Mediterranean Sea May 31, 2010.
Credit: Reuters/Uriel Sinai/Pool
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli marines stormed a Turkish aid ship bound for Gaza on Monday and at least 10 pro-Palestinian activists were killed, triggering a diplomatic crisis and an emergency session of the U.N. Security Council.
European nations, as well as the United Nations and Turkey, voiced shock and outrage at the bloody end to the international campaigners' bid to break Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip.
Its navy stopped six ships ferrying 700 people and 10,000 tons of supplies toward the Islamist-run Palestinian enclave, but bloody miscalculation left Israel isolated and condemned.
Once-close Muslim ally Turkey accused it of "terrorism" in international waters, and the U.N. Security Council prepared an emergency session. Speaking for Israel's most powerful friend, the United States, President Barack Obama said he wanted the full facts soon and regretted the loss of life.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also voiced regret as he cut short a visit to Canada and rang Obama to call off a White House meeting planned for Tuesday.
He said his forces had been attacked. "They were mobbed, they were clubbed, they were beaten, stabbed, there was even a report of gunfire. And our soldiers had to defend themselves."
Netanyahu vowed to maintain a three-year-old embargo to stop Iranian-backed Hamas from bringing arms to Gaza.
His White House meeting had seemed intended to soothe ties with Obama, which have been strained by differences over Jewish settlement construction that had delayed a revival of peace talks with the Palestinians. But Obama must also balance support for Israel, which is popular with American voters, with understanding for an angry Turkey and other Muslim U.S. allies.
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