Gaza flotilla raid comes back to haunt Benjamin Netanyahu
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The Israeli decision-making process before the raid which led to nine Turkish deaths at sea aboard the Gaza-bound vessel Mavi Marmara in May 2010 had "essential and significant flaws", a government report has found.
The incident, in which Israeli troops shot dead nine passengers aboard the Turkish vessel as some of them resisted the naval raid, led to a severe deterioration of Israeli-Turkish relations, which has yet to be reversed. It also triggered renewed international pressure to lift the embargo on Gaza imposed by Israel in June 2007 when Hamas seized full internal control of Gaza by force.
The country's State Comptroller, Micha Lindenstrauss, said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's decisions before the raid were taken "without proper co-ordination, documentation, or preparation, despite the fact the government, the IDF's top officers, and senior intelligence officials were all aware that the Turkish flotilla wasn't like the flotillas that preceded it".
In particular his report, published yesterday, accuses the Prime Minister of failing to "internalise" several warnings of a potentially violent confrontation from the then military chief of staff, Gabi Ashkenazi.
In doing so, the report appears to call into question Mr Netanyahu's own testimony to the comptroller that "in no place, in no discussion" with the military was "a problem with the operation raised".
The Prime Minister's Office yesterday said that "in the test of results" Israeli citizens were enjoying a level of security unprecedented for many years.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments