Flotilla: 'bullets justified'

By Jeremy Last - Thursday 15th July 2010


The Israeli commandos who killed nine Turkish activists on the Mavi Marmara aid ship in May were entirely "justified" in using live ammunition during the operation, according to an internal military probe.

Ten members of Israel's Shayetet 13 naval unit were also wounded in clashes which broke out after they rappelled on to the ship in order to prevent its attempt to break the Israeli naval blockade on the Gaza Strip.

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The incident on 31 May drew widespread international criticism, but while the IDF investigation found there had been operational and intelligence "mistakes", it praised the soldiers involved for their "bravery and resourcefulness."

The report was released just days before a Libyan aid ship headed for Gaza was due to arrive in the region.

Although some of those involved in sending the Amalthea to Gaza said the vessel would not be deterred from reaching its destination, others admitted that they would be willing to dock in Ashdod and transfer the aid by land.

"If Israel does not allow the ship into Gaza the group will seek any other appropriate destination to deliver the goods to the people in need," said Youssef Sawani, executive director of Gaddafi International Charity and Development Foundation, which organised the operation.

The Amalthea was believed to be carrying some 2,000 tons of rice, sugar and corn oil along with 15 volunteers, from Libya, Nigeria and Morocco.
Both Israel and the activists have been keen to avoid a repeat of the Marmara incident, which led to so much bloodshed.

Addressing reporters on Monday, former Major General Giora Eiland, who headed the military inquiry, stressed that the commandos "only used force when they were under immediate danger to their lives", in contradiction to accounts from the activists on board who claimed that they were attacked first.

However, Eiland's report was critical of the way the army planned the Marmara raid, saying the IDF should have had a "plan B" to put into action once they saw the activists on the ship were arming themselves.

"There were mistakes, also on the high military levels, but they were not the result of negligence," Eiland said.

The inquiry critcised military intelligence for underestimating the dangers posed by the Turkish Islamic group IHH, which orchestrated events on the Mavi Marmara.

IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi said he was satisfied with the results of the inquiry.

"This type of specialist investigation is part of the foundations of the organisational structure of the IDF as a controlled, transparent body that is able to learn lessons. The aim is to always improve in order to cope with all the challenges we face," he said.

"We continue to send our soldiers every day into the air, land and the sea to conduct operations that pose a greater risk than that of the raid in question."


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