UN Report: Unreasonable Israeli Force in Attack on Mavi Marmara

Report Insists Naval Blockade Is Legal Under International Law

The leaked (PDF) release of a 105-page United Nations review of the 2010 Israeli attack on the Mavi Marmara aid ship revealed that while the UN considers the Israeli naval blockade of the strip legal they see the killing of aid workers on the ship to be “excessive and unreasonable.

Indeed, not only did the report criticize the killings of nine people on board, but said Israel’s decision to board ships “at a great distance from the blockade zone” was also excessive. Israel’s government declined official comment, but one unnamed Israeli figure claimed the report was vindication for the attack.

The report was repeatedly delayed as Turkish and Israeli officials tried to hammer out an official narrative that would satisfy both parties, though this does not appear to have accomplished anything and Turkey is still demanding an apology for the killings, while Israeli officials rule it out.

The report doesn’t appear to support an official apology either, insisting instead that Israel offer a “statement of regret” and give Turkey some money to look the other way. Even this is likely to be a difficult sell in Israel’s hawkish Foreign Ministry, which has cheered the killings as a victory over “terror.”

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.