Israel admits Gaza flotilla raid ”mistakes”

TEL AVIV: An Israeli military inquiry into the naval raid on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla says commandos were under-prepared and mistakes were made at a senior level.

The report says the operation suffered from flawed intelligence-gathering and inadequate planning.

But it also praised the commandos involved and found the use of force had been the only way to stop the flotilla.

Eight Turks and one Turkish-American died in the naval raid in international waters, which provoked a major outcry.

The report criticised the operation”s planners for not having a back-up plan in the event of violence.

But it also said the mission had not been a failure and did not recommend any dismissals.

It said there had been a lack of co-ordination between military and intelligence bodies, and preparations for the 31 May takeover of the ships had been inadequate.

As they dropped from helicopters on to the deck of one vessel, the Mavi Marmara, Israeli forces were met with a violent reception, from some of those on board who were armed with clubs and knives and at least one gun, found the report.

Presenting the findings to media in Tel Aviv, retired general Giora Eiland, who chaired the investigating panel, had both criticism and praise.

“In this inquiry we found that there were some professional mistakes regarding both the intelligence and the decision-making process and some of the operational mistakes,” he said.

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