The Israeli public commission investigating the deadly raid by IDF soldiers of a Gaza-bound Turkish ship had conducted an impartial investigation, a US official said on Monday. The first part of the panel's report, which was released on Sunday, found that the Israeli soldiers who took part in a raid on the Mavi Marmara which resulted in the deaths of nine Turkish citizens had acted in self-defense. It also determined that Israel's three-and-a-half year blockade of the Gaza Strip did not break international law. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan had said that the Israeli report had "no value or credibility," and the Foreign Ministry in Ankara had issued a statement saying it was "appalled and dismayed" at the report by the Turkel Commission.
However, US State Department spokesman Philip J. Crowley said that Washington had been supportive of this effort by Israel. “We think that this is an independent report, credible and impartial and transparent investigation that has been undertaken by Israel." Crowley added that the Israeli report contributed "to the broader process that continues through the [United Nations] secretary general," saying there was "more work to be done, both on the Israeli report and then on the secretary general’s [own investigative] panel."
Earlier on Monday, Turkey released details of its own report into the raid, alleging that two of the activists killed on the Mavi Marmara ship were shot from a military helicopter. "The Israeli soldiers shot from the helicopter onto the Mavi Marmara using live ammunition and killing two passengers before any Israeli soldier descended on the deck," the report, published by state-run news agency ‘Anatolian’, claimed. It also said: “During the attack, excessive, indiscriminate and disproportionate force was used by the Israeli soldiers against the civilians on board.”
In September, three investigators for the UN Human Rights Council declared the Mavi Marmara interception unlawful, saying it was done in violation of international humanitarian law. Israel had boycotted that panel, calling it biased, but is cooperating with a separate investigation set up by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon that is still under way.
