US citizen among those killed in attack

Gaza City: The Israeli raid on Gaza Freedom Flotilla killed US citizen Furkan Dogan.

An American-Turkish citizen, killed during an Israeli commando raid on a humanitarian aid flotilla, was amongst activists buried in Turkey on Thursday, according to the Christian Science Monitor.

Furkan Dogan was struck by five bullets shortly before dawn on Monday while aboard the Turkish-flagged Mavi Marmara ship. His US citizenship was highlighted at the funeral of eight of the nine Turks who died during the incident.

"Furkan was my friend," said Ali Yunusoalu, who had accompanied his friend during pre-dawn prayers on the top deck of the Mavi Marmar on Monday.

"The soldiers started shooting and bombing" with bullets and percussion grenades," he added "It was a big sound - you can't hear a thing because of the noise." Dogan ran "everywhere" before he was killed, he said. "We were very afraid."

Dogan's father told how his son had been shot in the forehead, but he also mentioned how the family took comfort in believing that Furkan had died in an honourable manner. "I feel my son has been blessed with heaven," he said. "I am hoping to be a father — worthy of my son."

Though Dogan was only part-American, he was a US citizen none-the-less and his death will make it harder for the Obama administration to side-step a diplomatic confrontation with Israel. The death of a US citizen through violent means usually prompts a response from the federal government.

After American activist Rachel Corrie was killed by an Israeli military bulldozer, as she tried to stop it from destroying a Palestinian home in Gaza, in 2003, senior US officials demanded a full investigation. However, the Israeli investigation into her death found it was accidental, which lead her supporters to claim the issue had been ‘whitewashed'. Her family, this year, sued the Israeli military over the incident.