May 31, 2010: This image made from video
provided by the Israeli Defence Force shows
what the IDF says is one of several commandos
being dropped onto the Mavi Marmara ship by
helicopter in the Mediterranean Sea. Israeli
commandos rappelled down to an aid flotilla
sailing to thwart a Gaza blockade on Monday,
clashing with pro-Palestinian activists on the lead
ship in a raid that left at least nine passengers
dead.
JERUSALEM – Turkey's prime minister is
dismissing an Israeli inquiry's findings defending
the actions of Israeli troops in the deadly
interception of a Turkish-led protest flotilla to Gaza
last year.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan told reporters in Ankara on
Sunday that the Israeli report had "no value or
credibility."
The Israeli inquiry found that the actions of troops
who met violent resistance aboard one ship were
legal under international law. Israeli troops killed
nine of those on board.
The report said soldiers were attacked by activists
upon landing on the 600-passenger Mavi
Marmara and used lethal force because their lives
were in danger.
The flotilla was dominated by an Islamic charity
from Turkey and had the unofficial backing of
Erdogan's government.
update
An Israeli inquiry commission
defended the actions of the country's troops
during last year's deadly raid on a Gaza-bound
protest flotilla sailing from Turkey, finding in a
report released Sunday that Israel had not
violated international law.
While offering some criticism of the way the
takeover was planned, the commission's
conclusions exonerated the government, the
military and individual soldiers of wrongdoing.
The findings were unlikely to put to rest the
international controversy over Israel's actions,
which badly damaged its relations with Turkey
and led to the formation of a U.N. investigation.
Israeli naval commandos killed nine activists
aboard the Turkish protest ship Mavi Marmara on
May 31 after passengers resisted the takeover of
the vessel in international waters. The
condemnation that followed the bloodshed forced
Israel to ease the blockade on the Hamas-ruled
Gaza Strip.
The nearly 300-page reported released Sunday
by the government-appointed commission said
the naval blockade of Hamas-ruled Gaza, the
decision to intercept the protest flotilla in
international waters and the soldiers' use of lethal
force "were found to be legal pursuant to the
rules of international law."
The commission, headed by a retired Supreme
Court justice, included four Israeli members and
two international observers — David Trimble, a
Nobel peace laureate from Northern Ireland, and
Brig. Gen. Ken Watkin, Canada's former chief
military prosecutor. All signed off on the
conclusions.
A fifth Israeli participant, 93-year-old international
law expert Shabtai Rosenne, passed away during
the deliberations.
Soldiers rappelling from helicopters onto the deck
of the Marmara, with some 600 passengers on
board, were mobbed by several dozen activists
as they landed on deck one by one.
Soldiers were beaten, and some were thrown
onto a lower deck. According to Sunday's report,
two of the soldiers were shot, apparently with
weapons taken from the Israelis themselves. Both
soldiers and activists have said they acted in self-
defense.
The commission faulted the military planners of
the mission for not taking into account the
possibility of serious violence, saying "the soldiers
were placed in a situation they were not
completely prepared for and had not anticipated."
However, looking at 133 individual cases in which
soldiers used force — 16 of them involving
shooting to kill — the commission found soldiers
had acted properly and that their lives had been in
danger. The soldiers, the report said, "acted
professionally in the face of extensive and
unanticipated violence."
Alan Baker, former legal adviser to Israel's Foreign
Ministry, said the report will likely be accepted and
rejected by countries based on their prior feelings
toward Israel.
He said the committee's makeup should boost its
credibility among Israel's allies. He also expected
the U.N.'s commission to take it seriously.
"Whether this will persuade Turkey is doubtful.
Whether this will persuade the Arab countries is
very doubtful. I think the serious countries will
take it very seriously because of the people who
were involved and because of the international
observers," he said.
"I doubt very much whether it will make an
impression on those elements of the international
community who are pushing the anti-Israel
hostility," he added
Source: Http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/01/23/israeli-inquiry-flotilla-interception-legal/
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