Israeli Probe Faults Military Planning in Deadly Raid on Gaza Aid Flotilla
VOANews
12 July 2010
An Israeli military investigation has found that Israel's armed forces committed serious errors when preparing and carrying out the deadly raid on a Gaza-bound aid ship in May.
Nine pro-Palestinian activists, including an American, were killed when Israeli commandos intercepted a flotilla of ships trying to break the three-year-old Israeli blockade of the Palestinian territory.
Israel's official military inquiry found that the military failed to adequately prepare for the possibility that troops might encounter violent resistance during the operation.
Israel has said its commandos acted in self-defense when they opened fire on aid ship passengers who they say attacked them as they boarded the ship.
A civilian panel is conducting a separate investigation of the incident.
Israel rebuffed calls from Turkey and Arab states for an independent international probe of the raid.
The U.N. Security Council called for an impartial, credible and transparent investigation.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP and AP.
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
