MIDEAST/FILE: State audit slams Israeli leaders for what it describes as their poor planning of a lethal raid on a Gaza-bound Turkish activist ship in 2010

Record ID: 858887

  • Title: MIDEAST/FILE: State audit slams Israeli leaders for what it describes as their poor planning of a lethal raid on a Gaza-bound Turkish activist ship in 2010
  • Date: 14th June 2012
  • Summary: AT SEA (FILE - MAY 31, 2010) (REUTERS POOL) SHIP SEEN AT A DISTANCE ISRAELI ARMY HELICOPTER HOVERING ABOVE SHIP
  • Embargoed: 29th June 2012 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: At Sea, Jerusalem, Israel
  • City:
  • Country: Israel
  • Topics: Conflict,International Relations,Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVAEEJU8KPQSVFMVAGIE05BX7OP8
  • Aspect Ratio:
  • Story Text: A state audit slammed Israel's leaders on Wednesday (June 13) for what it described as their poor planning of a lethal raid on a Gaza-bound Turkish activist ship in 2010, saying the debacle raised concern over wider government strategy.
    Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office issued a short statement after the report was published.
    "Israel's democratic process includes mechanisms for independent oversight and we thank the state comptroller for his report. It must be remembered that (in) the flotilla incident, Israel exercised its legitimate right for self defence, to prevent weapons reaching terrorists in Gaza. The U.N. ruled that our interception was legal. Ultimately weapons that reach Hamas in Gaza are used against Israeli civilians," said Mark Regev, spokesperson for Netanyahu.
    Though brushed off by Netanyahu's office and lacking legal force, the findings by State Comptroller Micha Lindenstrauss touched a nerve among Israelis worried by prospects of a long-threatened war over arch-foe Iran's nuclear programme.
    "The decision-making process by the prime minister was carried out without any orderly, coordinated, authorised and documented staff work," said the 158-page report of the May 2010 interception of the Mavi Marmara, a converted cruise ship, and five other vessels that tried to breach Israel's Gaza blockade.
    Israeli marines killed nine pro-Palestinian activists from Turkey during fierce brawls aboard the Mavi Marmara, prompting Ankara to slash its once extensive ties with the Jewish state and threaten war-crimes suits.
    A U.N. inquiry involving representatives from both countries largely exonerated Israel in September, though it faulted the raid for excessive force. Two previous internal Israeli probes, by the military and a government-named commission of inquiry, reported only limited, tactical errors in the raid's execution.
    Topping Israelis' regional worries is Iran, in whose uranium enrichment they see the makings of a mortal threat. Tehran denies having hostile designs but the sluggishness of its compromise talks with world powers has stirred concern Israel could resort to pre-emptive strikes against Iranian facilities.
    In what appears to have been an effort to put the brakes on any such action, some recently retired Israeli intelligence and military leaders have come out against Netanyahu and Barak.
    Rebuffing such censure, Israeli officials insist major decisions are debated at length in cabinet forums and take into consideration a range of professional opinions.
    Lindenstrauss retires this year after an unusually productive tenure in a post that can influence public opinion though it lacks legal clout. Some of his critics accuse him of hyping national controversy for the sake of personal publicity.
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