The Turkel commission has cleared the IDF of breaking international law in the May 31, 2010 boarding of the Turkish ship Mavi Marmara off Gaza. The committee, formally known as the The Public Commission to Examine the Maritime Incident of 31 May 2010, headed by Supreme Court Judge Emeritus Jacob Turkel, submitted the first part of the report to the government today.
The first part of the report concluded, After a journey full of obstacles and pitfalls, and after exhaustive investigations, inquiries, studies and discussions, we unanimously and wholeheartedly summarize our conclusions: the naval blockade imposed on the Gaza Strip - in view of the security circumstances and Israel’s efforts to comply with its humanitarian obligations - was legal pursuant to the rules of international law.
"The actions carried out by Israel on May 31, 2010, to enforce the naval blockade had the regrettable consequences of the loss of human life and physical injuries. Nonetheless, and despite the limited number of uses of force for which we could not reach a conclusion, the actions taken were found to be legal pursuant to the rules of international law."
At the press conference, Turkel said, "The commission undertook a special task" in order to "fully investigate the truth, even if it was difficult and painful." He added that the commission offered the UK to disclose witnesses' evidence by video conferencing, but that there was no response to these approaches. He said that the commission received extensive video footage and photographs taken by participants in the flotilla and other parties.
The report says, The combined purpose of the naval blockade and the land crossings policy is to strategically limit the ability of the Hamas to carry out operations against Israel and its citizens. An important fact that should be taken into account in this regard is that the number of missile attacks from the Gaza Strip at Israel that has fallen from a record of 3,278 in 2008 to 165 in 2010 (as of October 7, 2010).
The report says that the involvement of the Turkish organization Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH) also justified the IDF action, citing intelligence reports that that "while the participants of the flotilla emphasized that there was no intention of using guns or knives, they had warned of spontaneous responses to the use of force against them and declared that ‘it would be difficult’ for the naval forces to board the ship." According to testimonies, the troops were told to expect to encounter activists who would try to hurt them emotionally by creating provocations.
However, in fact the reports states that "knives and large sums of cash were found on some of the IHH activists", but no firearms, except for those taken from IDF troops. Furthermore, "It should be noted that during the searches conducted on the Mavi Marmara, no humanitarian supplies were found."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on January 23, 2011
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