One of the activists on board the flotilla seized by Israel on its way to deliver aid to the Gaza Strip, said, in an interview filmed before Israeli naval commandos stormed the ship, that he hoped to die a martyr's death, DPA reported.
"When I went on the first convoy, I wanted to be a Shaheed (a martyr who sacrifices himself for Islam). I was not that lucky," the unidentified man said in a video released Thursday by the Israel military spokesman
"Second time, I wanted to be a Shaheed. Didn't work. Third time lucky, with the help of God, I'll be Shaheed," the man said, speaking on board the ship into a microphone on which the word "press" can clearly be seen, said.
The spokesman said the video, shot during daylight on board one of the ships, was captured during the Israeli naval commando raid on the flotilla before dawn Monday.
It was unclear whether the man was among the nine killed, or the dozens injured, when the Israeli commandos confronted angry activists wielding clubs, sticks and iron bars, during the takeover of the ship. (Link to video: http://dpaq.de/GVSVi)