Former U.S. Ambassador Examines Motive Behind Israel's Assault on Gaza Aid Flotilla

Interview with former Ambassador Edward Peck, on board a boat in Gaza Aid Flotilla, conducted by Scott Harris

Less than a week after Israel launched a military assault on a flotilla of six civilian ships carrying humanitarian aid to Palestinians living in Gaza -- which resulted in the deaths of nine passengers -- the Israeli Navy intercepted another cargo ship challenging its three-year-old blockade of Gaza. The ship of Irish registry, the Rachel Corrie, was named after a U.S. activist killed by an Israeli bulldozer when she attempted to prevent the destruction of a Palestinian home in 2003. The vessel was boarded without reports of violence and brought to the Israeli port of Ashdod. Israel said the humanitarian aid onboard the 1,200 ton cargo ship would be inspected and items not banned would be transported by truck to Gaza.

Among the passengers onboard the Rachel Corrie were Irish citizens Mairead Maguire, who won a Nobel Peace prize for her advocacy of a peaceful settlement in Northern Ireland, and Denis Halliday, a former U.N. humanitarian aid coordinator in Iraq who resigned in protest over the imposition of economic sanctions on Iraqi civilians.

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is now attempting to convene an international body to investigate Israel's May 31 assault on the six aid ships and the circumstances surrounding the deaths of nine passengers on the largest ship, the Mavi Marmara. Former U.S. Ambassador to Mauritania Edward Peck was among those onboard the Greek-flagged boat Sfendoni, one of six ships intercepted by the Israelis. Peck is a 32-year veteran of the U.S. Foreign Service, who was President Reagan's deputy director of the White House Task Force on Terrorism. Between The Lines' Scott Harris spoke with Ambassador Peck about why he participated in the aid flotilla, accusations by Israel that the passengers on the aid ships had links to terrorists and the reasons behind the growing international movement challenging Israel's Gaza blockade.

For more information on the Free Gaza Movement, one of the groups coordinating the Gaza aid ships, visit their website at www.freegaza.org.

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