Assad welcomes flotilla 'heroes'
Syrian president receives flotilla passengers in formal ceremony, says 'barbaric attack expresses Israel's true nature'
To the applause of a cheering crowd, four Syrian citizens on Thursday returned to their country, after participating in the aid flotilla to Gaza. The four were welcomed in a formal reception held by President Bashar Assad.
"The freedom flotilla incident was a turning point in the Arab-Israeli conflict and encouraged the world to act in order to break the inhumane blockade Israel imposes on the Palestinian people in Gaza," Assad said during the reception.
Among the four was Hilarion Capucci, who served as the Patriarch of Jerusalem and was expelled from Israel during the 1970s, after being charged with aiding a terrorist group.
Capucci and his fellow activists told President Assad their account of the past few days, and described the "criminal and barbaric attack by the Israeli occupation's soldiers."
Assad, on his part, took an interest in the four's health situation and lauded their courage.
As the reception drew to an end, President Assad concluded that "the barbaric attack on the freedom flotilla expresses Israel's true nature, which has not changed since it was 'planted' in our region."
On Wednesday, Turkey held a similar reception for the injured passengers who sailed on board the Marmara ship.
During the ceremony, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu called for an international investigation into the raid. Hundreds of supporters and family members attended the reception, held at a military base in Ankara.
