'Mistakes' made in Gaza ship raid: Israel

By Liu Dong

Mistakes were made "within relatively senior ranks" in devising plans and implementing execution of Israel's naval raid on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla, according to an Israeli military commission's inquiry report released to news organizations Monday.

"In this inquiry we found that there were some professional mistakes regarding both the intelligence and the decision-making process," which led to "the result not being as we would have wished," said Giora Eiland, a retired general who chaired the panel, while presenting findings Sunday to Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi and other top-ranking military officials.

Eiland additionally commended the "courageous way that the Israeli commandos behaved," according to the BBC.

The Eiland Committee initiated the probe June 7, a week after the assault on the Turkish-flagged Mavi Marmara in international waters, which claimed nine pro-Palestinian Turks, resulted in an outcry from the world community.

Turkey threatened to sever mutual diplomatic ties unless an apology was issued, but that demand was bluntly rebuffed by hard-line Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

"The report is a compromised move to ease Turkey's gathering rage, but the persistent tough position remains unchanged," Yin Gang, a Middle East expert at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times.

In a statement, Israeli military Chief of Staff Lt Gen Gabi Ashkenazi said the inquiry hadn't revealed failures, but it "brings up mistakes that must be corrected for future incidents," Reuters reported.

Israel has maintained that the attack was a mere counteroffensive, and that its military forces were entitled to board the ship to enact the naval blockade to halt weapons to Gaza.

"Israel has kept a vigilant eye toward Turkey's emerging clout in the complex Middle East arena. The attack occurred at a time when new changes occurred. The pressure to loosen the blockade of the Hamas-controlled Gaza will further complicate the peace process in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict," Yin said.