AN Israeli probe ruled yesterday that a deadly May 2010 raid on a flotilla of Gaza-bound aid ships, which killed nine Turkish activists and soured ties with Ankara, did not violate international law.

THOUSANDS of pro-Palestinian activists yesterday welcomed back to Istanbul the ship that was the scene of bloodshed during an Israeli raid on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla in May.

A Nobel Peace Prize winner seized on an aid flotilla to Gaza earlier this year was stopped from entering Israel today.

The Israeli military said today a soldier had been charged with looting the lead ship in a Gaza blockade-busting flotilla stopped by naval commandos in a bloody raid.

The Israeli intelligence service made mistakes during the deadly storming of ships taking aid to the Gaza strip, a former military official today acknowledged.

THE Israeli intelligence service made mistakes during the storming of ships taking aid to the Gaza strip, a former military official acknowledged today.

ISRAEL’S prime minister defended the deadly commando raid on an international flotilla protesting the Gaza blockade before an internal inquiry commission yesterday, suggesting that Turkey had sought theviolent confrontation on the high seas.

Israel’s prime minister today claimed its commando raid that left nine dead on an aid flotilla heading for Gaza was justified under international law.

The protest ship seized by Israel in a deadly raid in May returned to Turkey today.

An internal Israeli military probe has said mistakes were made at a "relatively senior" level during the planning and execution of Israel's raid on a Gaza-bound aid boat.

IF the entirely justified international outcry that followed the May 31 killing of nine unarmed Turkish citizens on the Mavi Marmara was the catalyst for Israel’s decision to ease the land blockade on Gaza then some small good has come from the tragedy.

THE captain of the Irish ship involved in the attempt to sail an international aid flotilla to Gaza has spoken of how he feared for his life when heavily armed Israeli soldiers took over the vessel.

UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon has proposed a multinational investigation of Israel’s raid on a Gaza-bound aid ship in which nine pro-Palestinian activists were killed, an Israeli official said yesterday.

Labour MEP Proinsias de Rossa is calling on the Government to initiate legal action against Israel in light of the attack on the aid convoy last Monday and the boarding of the MV Rachel Corrie.

Fine Gael Foreign Affairs Spokesman Billy Timmins has said that boarding of the MV Rachel Corrie by Israeli troops "was plain wrong".

The Israeli military said its forces seized a Gaza-bound aid vessel today, preventing it from breaking a maritime blockade of the Hamas-ruled territory.

Israeli commandos shot passengers at the rate of one a minute during the bloody raid on an aid flotilla bound for Gaza, a Briton on board the main vessel said today.

A leading Irish activist seized by Israeli authorities tonight revealed he was assaulted in custody while three others were severely beaten.

The expulsion of activists detained during the storming of an aid flotilla heading for the Gaza Strip was under way today.