ISTANBUL, Turkey, May 31 (UPI) -- Tens of thousands of protesters in Istanbul's Taksim Square have demonstrated on the first anniversary of Israel's attack on the Gaza humanitarian flotilla.
Eight Turks and one U.S. citizen died when Israeli forces boarded the Mavi Marmara, the largest ship in the six-vessel squadron.
Israel has maintained that the flotilla contained contraband, a charge strongly denied by Turkey, which came close to breaking diplomatic relations over the incident, Press TV reported Tuesday.
Israel established the blockade to stop certain materials from reaching the area. The Israelis claimed the materials were being used to build weapons -- mostly missiles -- to attack the Jewish state.
Turkey did end its military alliance with Israel, Tel Aviv's sole military relationship with a Muslim-majority country.
The Istanbul demonstrators expressed support for the families of those killed and demanded that Israel lift its siege of the Gaza Strip, an issue that Egypt's recent opening of the Rafah crossing with the Gaza Strip makes less provocative.
A second relief convoy, named the "Freedom Flotilla II," comprising 15 aid vessels and more than 1,500 activists of around 100 different nationalities, is to set sail for Gaza next month.
