Finland summons Israeli envoy

Finland has summoned the Israeli ambassador to condemn a brutal attack on the Freedom Flotilla carrying aid for the Palestinians under siege in the Gaza Strip.

State Secretary at the Finnish Foreign Ministry Pertti Torstila conveyed Finland’s “disappointment and concern over the increased spiral of violence in the volatile area” to Israeli ambassador to Helsinki Avi Granot.

“Finland condemns the violent interception of the Gaza-bound aid flotilla on international waters and does not accept the disproportionate use of force against civilians,” AFP reported the Finnish Foreign Ministry as saying in a statement on Tuesday.

Finland also called for “a reliable and thorough investigation” into the fatal incident by an “independent party.”

The condemnation comes one day after Israeli commandos launched a pre-dawn assault on the six-ship aid convoy in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea, at least 150km (90 miles) off the coast of Gaza.

The Freedom Flotilla was carrying more than 10,000 tons of humanitarian aid to the impoverished Gaza Strip, where a years-long Israeli siege has pushed the people on the verge of starvation.