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.
