No wonder Israelis detained him for three days. Jamal ElSheyyal, speaking from Istanbul:

There is no doubt from what I saw that live ammunition was fired before any Israeli soldier was on deck.

Indiscriminate fire from helicopter– one man shot in the top of the head. Three shot passengers died because they did not get treatment over many hours.

Passenger violence: "I definitely saw iron bars." Passengers took apart the railings and used them to fend off the Israelis. "I did see a number of Israeli soldiers being beaten by them." There were no weapons. People wielded those bars as the Israelis tried to come aboard the ship.

He heard accounts of three Israeli soldiers being taken captive by the passengers. The Israelis were released, because the capture produced more intense

Treated with contempt by the Israelis, he said. Hands tied for 24 hours. "Soldier requested that I urinate where I was."