ISTANBUL – Israel used “excessive” force in its assault on a ship carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza that killed nine Turkish activists, according to the findings of a Turkish inquiry announced on Sunday.
The preliminary conclusions of the report said “the Israeli army used excessive force against the Mavi Marmara”. The preliminary conclusions of a report were released on Sunday, coinciding with the findings of Israel’s own inquiry into the incident in the eastern Mediterranean last May.
Nine Turkish activists onboard the ship were killed in the assault by Israeli forces to prevent the Mavi Marmara and other vessels carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza, from breaching the blockade on the Palestinian territory. “The force used to intercept the Mavi Marmara exceeded the limits of what was appropriate and necessary,” the document said.
The commission of inquiry set up by Turkey last year interviewed Turkish and foreign activists on the flotilla. The commission’s preliminary report criticised the “disproportionate nature of the attack” and called on the Jewish State to pay compensation to the families of the victims. An Israeli probe concluded on Sunday that Israel’s actions against the aid convoy “were found to be legal pursuant to the rules of international law”.
