(Ynet News) IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi told the panel investigating the Gaza flotilla raid that he was "proud" of the soldiers who took part. "The commandos exhibited calm, bravery and morality in accordance with IDF values," Ashkenazi told the committee. "From the moment the operation began, it was clear that the circumstances were unprecedented," he said. The soldiers who opened fire did so because their lives were in danger. "The soldiers legitimately opened fire and shot those who they needed to shoot and not those who they didn't need to shoot." "We should have used precise fire to incapacitate those preventing the soldiers from boarding the ship to reduce the risk to our soldiers. This is the main lesson for the next operation." Ashkenazi said the army was not familiar with IHH, the Turkish group that organized the sail to Gaza. "We did not investigate the organization...because it is not defined as a terror organization and is based in Turkey, which is not an enemy state."
2010-08-12 08:31:25Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive