Yesterday a very disturbing video surfaced showing Israeli commandos shooting a Turkish activist as he was lying, kicked and beaten, on the deck of the Mavi Marmara. There have been some good questions raised about editing and content surrounding the initial video. This diary is an attempt to address some of those questions. The execution aspect is certainly feasible, if not probable. Yet there is room for doubt, if not actual disagreement (not that that ever happens).
This is not an instant expert diary. It is an attempt to fill in some blanks surrounding one tragic aspect of a tragic event that is bound to the ongoing suffering of the people of Gaza. This is an attempt to answer questions I wanted answered about this specific event.
I have tried to present evidence and supporting context for people to make their own evaluations. I hope any weapons experts here in the community will offer insights that may help us all to understand what really happened here.
Finally, Israel has the aerial and sea-level infrared (IR) views of this event in their entirety. I hope they release not only that video, but the video taken by the activists and journalists on board the Mavi Marmara. Let the world see what happened.
The video that started all this is shown below. It is a edited take on the shooting (I'm going to use shooting because there is a trigger pull and a slight recoil at 0:18 of this video).
Original Edited Shooting Video
EDITING
When the above video surfaced, questions were immediately raised about selective editing.
Unedited Shooting Video (War in Context)
The second, longer, video of the event is consistent with the edited version. Some sample video logging:
1:40 - Kicking.
2:14 - [new view] Same kicking
2:22+ - [continuation of second view] Aim, shoot, reload/bolt/sling check, aim [motion down to shoot, tear gas obscured, cutaway]
2:33+ - [new view] Aim, shoot (same event; third view)
There seem to be three views/versions of the shooting in the longer version. All three of these views are abbreviated and included in the edited version. In both versions, one shot was shown relatively clearly, as well as the aiming precursor to a second that tracks with the motions of the previous [weapon] shot. The part showing the aim shoot aim is continuous and unedited and is, again, completely consistent with the first video.
The first video was shortened and zoomed, but did not alter or enhance the sequence of events.
CONTENT
The content questions raised by the video are:
• What weapon was being used by the Israeli commando?;
• Did a shooting take place?; and,
• If one did, was it lethal?
Weapon
The image below shows the possible weapons that the commando was using, as suggested by the video.
It is not an Uzi (Option 1). It is not a pepperball gun (Option 2). While the US Individual Serviceman Non-Lethal System (ISNLS) is a paintball gun that more closely resembles the weapon in the shooting video, the IR videos clearly show that this was not the paintball gun in use on the Mavi Marmara. This leaves a shotgun, and other.
The Benelli M4 shown above fits the form of the commando's weapon. It is used by Israeli special forces units. The operation of a pump shotgun conforms to the motions of the commando during this sequence. He is clearly loading the weapon from underneath which also conforms to the operation of the M4.
Shot
Reasonable people will disagree about this. It it is unlikely it will ever be proven one way or the other. Here's some context.
There is a trigger pull, slight recoil, reload sequence shown in the short video at 0:18. Assuming a shotgun is the weapon in the video, for a shot to have been fired and pass the smirk test, there would have to be some explanation for the lack of substantial recoil and flash. As it turns out there is.
There are Less-Than-Lethal (LTL; crowd control) shotgun rounds in common use. These rounds have about 25% of the propellant load of lethal shells. That's 75% less flash and recoil. There are also reduced and no-flash propellants available for military use. Use of LTL ammunition by Israeli commandos seems entirely consistent with this mission.
The video below shows the recoil from LTL shotgun rounds to be similar to that in the Mavi Marmara video, even for an untrained (note the ear protection; What?), small-stature person.
It is entirely plausible that the original Mavi Marmara shooting video recorded a shotgun loaded with LTL/crowd control rounds being fired.
Lethality
The answer to this question revolves around whether a lethal wound from LTL ammunition occurred on the Mavi Marmara. According to The Guardian's article on the autopsy results, there likely was.
He added that all but one of the bullets retrieved from the bodies came from 9mm rounds. Of the other round, he said: "It was the first time we have seen this kind of material used in firearms. It was just a container including many types of pellets usually used in shotguns. It penetrated the head region in the temple and we found it intact in the brain."
SUMMARY
We don't know what we don't know about these events. I guess the only absolute here is that they need to be investigated independently and in excruciating, proctological detail. I hope that happens.
The fact that an an independent investigation is highly unlikely, and no lessons will be learned, or worse that the wrong lessons will be learned, is the metaphor for the broader conflict.
FWIW.
----
Update: 12/27/11: After wondering about what the weapon was for some time, it appears it was a Ruger, .22, "crowd control" weapon. This explains the lack of recoil and the profile. Still deadly, especially at close range.
Recently a protester in Bi'lin was shot with one of these weapons.
Pix here. Compare the weapon profile to the shooter image in the diary.