OCCUPIED JERUSALEM: 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 UN 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 report 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 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.” Meanwhile, Turkey's prime minister dismissed the Israeli inquiry's findings. Recep Tayyip Erdogan told reporters in Ankara Sunday that the Israeli report had “no value or credibility.”
