LONDON — Prime Minister David Cameron described Israel's raid of a Gaza-bound aid flotilla as "unacceptable" and urged the Jewish state to "respond constructively" to criticism of its actions.

In a telephone conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu late Monday, Cameron said Britain "deplored the heavy loss of life" after at least nine people died when Israeli commandos stormed an aid ship.

Cameron insisted Britain remained committed to Israel's security, but urged Netanyahu to make a constructive response to "legitimate" international critcism.

"He reiterated the UK's strong commitment to Israel's security, but urged Israel to respond constructively to legitimate criticism of its actions, and to do everything possible to avoid a repeat of this unacceptable situation," a spokesman for Cameron said.

"The PM also stressed the importance of urgently lifting the blockade of Gaza, and allowing full access for humanitarian aid."

Foreign Secretary William Hague called for a "full and impartial and independent investigation or inquiry" into Monday's events off the coast of Gaza.

"It is very important that Israel acts with restraint and in line with international obligations in any case such as this," Hague said.

"We will all want to know more about whether more could have been done to minimise the risks or to reduce the number of deaths and injuries.

"That is why we agree with our EU partners and other international partners that there must be a full and impartial and independent investigation or inquiry into these events."

The aid ship was carrying hundreds of pro-Palestinian activists and thousands of tonnes of supplies.

Hague said the storming of the ship highlighted the need for an end to the "unacceptable and counter-productive" restrictions on aid entering the Palestinian territories.

Netanyahu, speaking in Ottawa before cancelling a planned visit to Washington to return to Israel, expressed "regret" over the loss of life but said Israeli troops had acted to "defend their lives."

In what could be a serious blow to Israel's cover story on the murder of at least nine humanitarian activists making their way to Gaza through international waters, raw video by an Al Jazeera producer, who was filming during the raid, appears to provide evidence that the IDF opened fire on the flotilla even before boarding it.

Israeli forces assert they came under attack by the pro-Palestine civilian group, and video released by the IDF appears to show one soldier being tossed overboard amid a scuffle with unidentified individuals wielding melee weapons, like clubs and chairs.

However, in raw video captured by an Al Jazeera producer and published to YouTube late Monday, two journalists provide a play-by-play of the harrowing event as pops and cracks echo in the background. Even before the Israeli forces were aboard, one says, they were pelting the boat with tear gas and stun grenades, injuring numerous people.

Then he confirms the first death, saying the individual was killed by "munitions," but not specifying whether it was a bullet or something else. Moments later he confirms that Israeli forces were boarding the ship.

Another of the reporters featured in the video works for the Iranian network Press TV. "We are being hit by tear gas, stun grenades, we have navy ships on either side, helicopters overhead," he said. "We are being attacked from every single side. This is in international waters, not Israeli waters, not in the 68-mile exclusion zone. We are being attacked in international waters completely illegally."

"The organizers are telling me now, they are raising a white flag -- they are raising a white flag to the Israeli army," the Al Jazeera reporter said. "This is after one person has been killed; a civilian has been killed by munition. That number could be more ... Despite the white flag being raised, despite the white flag being raised, the Israeli army is still shooting, still firing live munitions."

Early reports put the number of victims between nine and 19, with dozens injured. The actual number has not yet been confirmed, as the IDF took all the Gaza aid flotilla participants into custody. Numerous victims were reported to be from Turkey.

"Our soldiers had to defend themselves, to defend their lives," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly said. Other Israeli officials have called the charity organization responsible a group of "extremist supporters of terror." The IDF also alleged that weapons were found onboard, calling the act and the resulting violence a "provocation."

However, if these reporters' immediate accounting of the events proves accurate, the truth of Israel's claim that they opened fire in self defense would seem to be in doubt.

Portions of the raw video were featured by Al Jazeera and AFP, although the beginning segment and the most clear allegations that Israel opened fire before boarding were not included in their entirety.

The action sparked protests around the world within hours.

In Turkey crowds took to the streets in several cities to vent fury after the storming of a Turkish passenger boat in the flotilla that left at least nine dead, most of them believed to be Turkish nationals.

"Damn Israel!", "A tooth for a tooth, an eye for an eye, revenge, revenge!" yelled protesters in Istanbul where about 10,000 people converged on the central Taksim square after marching from the Israeli consulate.

"Turkish soldiers to Gaza," shouted some, as others torched Israeli flags.

"I call on the government to expel the Israeli consul... And if necessary, we are ready for war," Seref Mangal, 40, told AFP. A banner carried by the crowd read: "Close down the Zionist embassy."

In the capital Ankara about 1,000 people gathered outside the residence of Israeli ambassador Gabby Levy and shouted "Damn the Zionist murderers!" and "Israel will drown in the blood of the martyrs!".

They threw eggs and plastic bottles into the garden of the residency. Reports said demonstrations were held in dozens of cities across the country.

In London more than 1,000 people -- some of whom had friends on the ships carrying aid to blockaded Gaza -- protested outside the residence of British Prime Minister David Cameron and the Israeli embassy.

Chanting "Free Palestine" and brandishing the Palestinian flag and banners condemning Israeli "war crimes", activists blocked a major route through the capital. Hundreds of police stood guard outside the embassy.

"We have close friends on the boat on which people were killed and we are here waiting for news," said Kate Hudson, the chairwoman of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament.

In Paris about 500 people joined a noisy protest near the Israeli embassy, waving Palestinian flags and shouting "Palestine will survive, Palestine will conquer".

Scuffles broke out when a dozen rival protestors waving Israeli flags approached, prompting police to fire tear gas, but calm was soon restored. Another 1,300 people rallied in the city of Lille.

Greek police used tear gas to force back around 1,500 protesters outside the Israeli embassy in Athens, while another 2,000 people rallied in the northern city of Thessaloniki.

In Lebanon thousands of Palestinian refugees and activists waving Palestinian flags and banners marched in the country's 12 refugee camps.

"Where is the international community? Where are human rights?" they chanted in the Al-Bass camp in the southern coastal city of Tyre.

In Beirut hundreds gathered in the city centre called on Israeli embassies in the Arab world to be shut down and for Israeli ambassadors to be expelled.

At a demonstration of about 3,000 people at the Beddawi camp in the northern city of Tripoli, anger also turned on Israel's traditional ally, the United States.

"God is great and America is the greatest evil," they chanted. "Give us weapons, give us weapons and send us on to Gaza."

There were even demonstrations inside Israel, where hundreds of protestors flooded the streets of the northern Arab city of Nazareth as Israeli police raised the level of alert across the country and deployed reinforcements.

More than 2,000 people in Amman protested what Jordan's Information Minister Nabil Sharif dubbed a "heinous crime".

Demonstrators included Islamist opposition leaders and carried banners that read "We Will not Surrender" and "Break Gaza Blockade." They also demanded that Jordan shut down the Jewish state's embassy and expel the Israeli ambassador.

In Iran's capital Tehran, dozens of people pelted stones at the UN office chanting: "This savage regime of Israel must be wiped out."

They burnt the Israeli flag and tore up pictures of US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

In Pakistan politicians, lawmakers and journalists staged a peaceful protest in Islamabad, denouncing the killings and calling on the United Nations and the United States to intervene.

Hundreds of Bosnians marched through Sarajevo, brandishing Palestinian flags. "We wanted to raise our voice to denounce a new attempt at genocide in modern times," one of the organisers, Edvin Cudic, told Srna news agency.

Around 200 people demonstrated outside the UN's European headquarters in Geneva demanding an inquiry into the raid, while in the Netherlands 400 rallied outside the Israeli embassy in The Hague.

There were also protests in Egypt while in Kuwait activists were planning rallies.

After Israeli PM Netanyahu canceled a planned meeting with President Obama, the White House stressed the importance of "learning all the facts" before jumping to conclusions.

First and foremost, we mourn the deaths of the 20 humanitarian aid workers that were spinelessly slaughtered by the terrorist state of Israel. Our hearts and thoughts go out to the families in this terrible time of senseless loss. We also wish a speedy and complete recovery to the up to 80 people who were wounded by the IDF in this abominable attack in International Waters.

We severely condemn, with the very harshest tone imaginable, the murderous attack conducted upon the innocent unarmed humanitarians of the FREE GAZA 'Freedom Flotilla' within International Waters.

This act demonstrates the overly sociopathic mentality of the Israeli government in its continuing criminal actions committed upon the Palestinian people and upon those coming to their aid. This act was not simply an international criminal act upon the passengers of the humanitarian 'Freedom Flotilla' but was indeed a rabid, viscous and delusional attack on humanity itself.

In conducting an act of this nature Israel has once again demonstrated to the entire world its arrogance in believing it can continue with its predictable path of violent, arrogant and cowardly behavior. Because of Israel's past-unpunished crimes, it believes it can act with impunity in any form no matter how murderous.

Our response to these terrorist acts must be large and sustained. We people of conscious can no longer sit by idly and watch Israel literally get away with murder, time and time again.

Knowing that the U.S. is criminal Israel's biggest funder and cheerleader and knowing how futile it is to get the murderous U.S. Government to ever do the humane thing and condemn Israel; however, in a perfect world this is what we seek:

The Obama administration MUST declare Israel's actions as criminal and must follow through with harsh and long-term penalties. Any other response from the Obama administration will be deemed as being complicit to murder, oppression and terror.

We demand:

1. The immediate expulsion of the Israeli Ambassador from the United States and the withdrawal of the U.S. Ambassador in Tel Aviv.

2. Complete and immediate withholding of any and all funds (including military aid) from the United States to Israel.

3. That the IDF be designated as "terrorists" and Israel as a "terrorist state."

4. Trials in Nuremburg for Benyamin Nethanyahu and Avigdor Lieberman and the IDF troops that participated in the massacre.

5. The end to the siege of Gaza by Israel.

6. An immediate withdrawal of troops from Iraq and Afghanistan.

From people of conscience we call for:

1. Large and sustained public protests outside every Israeli Embassy/Consulate in the United States (see addresses below)

2. Increased effort of the BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) Movement (http://bdsmovement.net/)

3. Increased efforts to protest the United States' war crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan.

4. Increased efforts to protest nuclear proliferation, especially by Israel and the U.S., two states that have clearly demonstrated their lack of compassion for innocent peoples.

ISRAELI EMBASSY IN THE UNITED STATES:

3514 International Dr. N.W. • Washington DC 20008

Telephone: (202) 364-5500

ISRAELI CONSULATES IN THE UNITED STATES:

ATLANTA

1100 Spring St. N.W. Suite 440 Atlanta, Georgia 30309

Telephone: (404) 487-6500

BOSTON

20 Park Plaza • Suite 1020 • Boston, MA 02116

Telephone: (617) 535-0280

CHICAGO

111 East Wacker Drive, Chicago, IL 60601

Telephone: (312) 297- 4800

HOUSTON

24 Greenway Plaza • Suite 1500 • Houston, Texas 77046

Telephone: (713) 622 4924

LOS ANGELES

6380 Wilshire Blvd • Suite 1700 • Los Angeles, CA 90048

Telephone (323) 852-5500

MIAMI

100 N. Biscayne [Yitzchak Rabin] Boulevard • Suite 1800 • Miami, Florida 33132

Telephone: (305) 925-9400

NEW YORK

800 2nd Avenue • New York, NY 10017

Telephone: (212) 499-5000

PHILADELPHIA

1880 John F Kennedy Blvd. • 18th Floor • Philadelphia, PA 19103

Telephone: (215) 977-7600

SAN FRANCISCO

456 Montgomery Street, Suite 2100 • San Francisco, CA 94104

Telephone: (415) 844-7510

FOLLOW UPDATES HERE:

http://witnessgaza.com/

At least 10 people were killed yesterday and 36 wounded after Israeli military commandos stormed the flotilla of aid ships, sparking outrage and condemnation across the globe.

BBC news said the death toll could be much higher with earlier reports claiming 19 activists had died in the incident which took place in international waters.

Just hours earlier Mr Netanyahu had given his full support for the raid while meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

But Israel's actions sparked a strong rebuke with its allies freeziing military ties and summoning its ambassadors over the incident while Muslim leaders slammed the deadly raid as "criminal" and "inhuman."

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon also said he was "shocked" by the deadly Israeli assault and called for a full investigation to take place.

Turkey said Israel's actions amounted to an act of state terrorism and recalled its ambassador from Tel Aviv. It also called for an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council, where it holds a non-permanent seat.

The European Union foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton demanded Israel mount a full inquiry, as member states ordered an emergency meeting of their ambassadors to the EU in Brussels.

Ms Ashton said she called Israel's top diplomat to express concern over the raid.

Spain - the current EU president - as well as France, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Austria and Greece summoned Israel's ambassadors for explanations, with Madrid slamming the operation as "unacceptable."

Protests also took place across Egypt and thousands attended a rally in Paris.

And South Africa's Nobel Peace Laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu said the assault was "inexcusable."

The Islamist Hamas, which runs the Gaza Strip, urged fellow Muslims to "rise up" in protest in front of Israeli embassies the world over, as Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas declared three days of mourning over the "massacre."

Arab League chief Amr Mussa slammed the raid as a "crime" against a humanitarian mission, saying the 22-country body was consulting to decide on its next step.

Algeria was also seeking news of 32 of its citizens aboard the ships.

While condemnation was swift, protesters began showing their disdain in Turkey and Pakistan.

Police struggled to hold back an angry crowd of hundreds outside the Israeli consulate in Turkey's biggest city Istanbul, while furious protesters shouted "D**n Israel" outside the residence of the Israeli ambassador in Ankara.

JERUSALEM (AP) -- Israeli naval commandos stormed a flotilla of ships carrying aid and hundreds of pro-Palestinian activists to the blockaded Gaza Strip on Monday, killing nine passengers in a botched raid that provoked international outrage and a diplomatic crisis.

Dozens of activists and six Israeli soldiers were wounded in the bloody predawn confrontation in international waters. The violent takeover dealt yet another blow to Israel's international image, already tarnished by war crimes accusations in Gaza and its 3-year-old blockade of the impoverished Palestinian territory.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanhayu canceled a much-anticipated meeting with President Obama in Washington on Tuesday in a sign of just how gravely Israel viewed the international uproar. In Canada, Mr. Netanyahu announced he was rushing home.

Israel said it opened fire after its commandos were attacked by knives, clubs and live fire from two pistols wrested from soldiers after they rappelled from a helicopter to board one of the vessels. Late Monday, it released a grainy black-and-white video that it said supported its version of events.

Reaction was swift and harsh, with a massive protest in Turkey, Israel's longtime Muslim ally, which unofficially supported the mission. Ankara announced it would recall its ambassador and call off military exercises with the Jewish state.

The U.N. Security Council scheduled an emergency meeting later Monday to hear a briefing on the incident, said Lebanese Deputy Ambassador Caroline Ziade, whose country holds the council presidency. The Arab League called for a meeting to discuss the issue Tuesday in Cairo.

The showdown came at a sensitive time for Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking. Mr. Netanyahu, who expressed his "full backing" for the military raid, had hoped to receive a high-profile expression of support from Mr. Obama after months of strained relations over Israeli settlement construction.

The White House said in a written statement that the United States "deeply regrets" the loss of life and injuries and was working to understand the circumstances surrounding this "tragedy."

The activists were headed to Gaza to draw attention to the blockade, which Israel and Egypt imposed after the militant Hamas group seized the territory of 1.5 million Palestinians in 2007.

There were conflicting accounts of what happened early Monday, with activists claiming the Israelis fired first and Israel insisting its forces fired in self-defense. Communications to the ships were cut shortly after the raid began, and activists were kept away from reporters after their boats were towed to the Israeli port of Ashdod.

VENICE, La., May 31 (UPI) -- BP officials said the oil company could try to cap the monster Gulf of Mexico oil spill this week.

All other attempts, including a "top kill" method of blocking the leak, have failed to contain the spilling of millions of gallons of oil into the gulf from a Deepwater Horizon rig that exploded April 20 and sank, killing 11 rig workers.

BP Chief Executive Officer Tony Hayward said Sunday the company would increase its efforts to stop the flow and protect the coastline, CNN reported.

"As far as I'm concerned, a cup of oil on the beach is a failure," Hayward said.

Hayward apologized for the spill and the "massive disruption" it has caused the Gulf Coast.

"There's no one who wants this over more than I do. I would like my life back," Hayward said.

Meanwhile, shrimper John Wutsell Jr. sought a temporary restraining order in federal court against BP, asking it be kept from "altering, testing or destroying clothing or any other evidence or potential evidence" when workers become ill after working on cleanup efforts, CNN reported Monday.

BP did not comment on the restraining order or on allegations that BP was confiscating clothing.

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