Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“In his report of more than 150 pages, the comptroller is expected to harshly criticise Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Ehud Barak over their decision-making,” the Yedioth Aharonot daily said, referring to a report by state comptroller Micha Lindenstrauss, which will be released later in the day.
Israeli commandos boarded the Turkish-owned Mavi Marmara, the largest ship in a flotilla aimed at breaking the Gaza blockade on May 31 2010 in a botched pre-dawn raid which ended with the deaths of nine Turkish activists.
The raid triggered a crisis between Israel and Turkey, once regional allies, and resulted in a dramatic downgrade in diplomatic relations and expulsion of the Israeli ambassador from Turkey. Military ties were also damaged.
“Lindenstrauss will report that there were major flaws in the decision-making process led by Netanyahu, as there was no organised preliminary research conducted in anticipation of the flotilla,” the Maariv daily wrote.
Another major fault likely to be highlighted in the report was a lack of consultation by top officials with Israel’s National Security Council, Maariv said.
Excessive force
A Turkish court will on November 6 open criminal proceedings against four top Israeli military officials who were serving at the time of the raid and whom Ankara holds responsible for the violence.
Among them are former chief of staff Gaby Ashkenazi, former navy chief Eliezer Marom, former military intelligence head Amos Yadlin and former Air Force intelligence chief Avishai Levy.
The trial is expected to be held in the absence of the accused, Israel having ruled out any prosecution of those who took part in the attack.
Last year, an Israeli probe ruled that the raid did not violate international law, in a finding which Turkey said lacked credibility.
In its January 2011 report, Israel’s six-member Turkel Commission concluded that both the raid and the blockade complied with international law.
The commission said Israeli troops “encountered extreme violence” when they boarded the Mavi Marmara, a ferry carrying around 600 people that led the six-ship flotilla.
A UN report in September of last year found that Israel used “excessive” force in the raid but also said that Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza was legal and that the flotilla organisers had acted “recklessly” in trying the mission. – Saps-AFP