Israeli inquiry concludes raid on Turkey's Mavi Marmara was legal

Israel reacted legally to protect its sea blockade against the Gaza Strip last May when its commandos boarded a Gaza-bound Turkish aid ship and killed nine activists, according to the country's official inquiry into the event, released yesterday. "The Israeli armed forces' interception and capture of the Gaza flotilla vessels in international waters … was in conformity with customary international law," Bloomberg quoted the report as saying. Israel has said its soldiers issued numerous warnings to the ships of the six-vessel flotilla to change course. It also said its soldiers who boarded the Turkish Mavi Marmara were attacked with knives and clubs, adding that seven were wounded, including some via gunfire after activists on the ship grabbed Israeli firearms. Activists have said they threw the guns into the sea. "Overall, the Israeli military personnel acted professionally in the face of extensive and unanticipated violence," the report said, adding that the Turkish activists "lost the protection of their civilian status for such time as they directly participated in the hostilities."