Israel probe says activists killing legal

An Israeli investigation panel has declared Tel Aviv’s military attack on the Gaza-bound Freedom Flotilla aid convoy as ‘legal’ under international law.

Headed by former judge Yaakov Turkel, the six-member committee concluded that “the actions taken were found to be legal pursuant to the rules of international law,” AFP reported.

Israeli commandos attacked the convoy in international waters on May 31, killing nine Turkish activists and injuring about 50 others.

The fleet was carrying around 10,000 tons of humanitarian supplies for Gaza, which came under the tight land, naval and aerial blockade in mid-June 2007. The restrictions have been depriving 1.5-million Palestinians in the sliver of food, fuel, medicine and other necessities.

The activists, who survived the attack, were subsequently expelled and the cargos transferred to the Israeli port of Ashdod in the south of Tel Aviv.

Much of the international community united in expressing outrage over the incident and a United Nations inquiry found — by complete contrast — that the forces had shown “an unacceptable level of brutality.”

The Tel Aviv-appointed investigative committee, however, alleged that “the naval blockade imposed on the Gaza Strip… was legal pursuant to the rules of international law.”