Israel admits mistakes but justifies firing on activists

FLAWED intelligence- gathering and planning led to Israel’s botched and deadly raid on a Gaza- bound protest flotilla, with security forces underestimating the potential for violence, said the official report released yesterday.

The report, however, praised the commandos who took part in the operation, saying they were justified in opening fire and killing nine after being confronted by violent pro-Palestinian activists on board one of the ships.

The report concluded that intelligence-gathering was deficient and that various intelligence units did not communicate properly with each other. It criticised the operation’s planners for not having a backup plan in the event of violence. It did not recommend any dismissals.

“We found that there were some professional mistakes regarding both the intelligence and the decision-making process and some operational mistakes,” the report’s author, retired general Giora Eiland, told reporters at a Defence Ministry briefing.

Some of the mistakes took place at fairly high levels of command, he said, giving few details. The report itself was not made public.

The raid also focused international attention on the three-year-old blockade on the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip and forced Israel to ease the movement of goods through land crossings.

Israel’s naval blockade on the Gaza Strip also remains in place.

Later this week the blockade will be challenged again, this time by a Libyan protest ship.

“If tomorrow we face a similar ship, we’ll be able to stop it,” Eiland said.

“If there are dozens of people on board with cold weapons and they are committed to kill soldiers and committed to be killed, we can’t guarantee they won’t be killed,” he said, referring to the alleged use of knives, clubs and other weapons on the Turkish vessel Mavi Marmara.

On the flotilla’s five other ships there was only passive resistance.

A Libyan ship, which was sent by a charity group headed by the son of Libyan leader Muammar Gadhafi, have said they do not seek confrontation with Israel but are determined to reach Gaza.

“This ship is carrying humanitarian aid and its organisers are not looking for political propaganda or media campaigns or any provocation,” said Youssef Sawani, of the Gadhafi International Charity and Development Foundation.