Over two years after it happened, Israel’s state comptroller Micha Lindenstrauss has weighed in on the Israeli military attack on the Mavi Marmara, a Gaza-bound aid ship. The attack ended with nine aid workers killed and several others wounded.
The comptroller faulted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the raid, saying the decision-making process was flawed and faced with “serious shortcomings” surround preparation.
The report also blasted the Foreign Ministry and the general handling of foreign propaganda relating to the killings, saying they had failed and cast the Israeli military in an extremely negative light. Official responses at the time came from several offices at once, and the excuses for the killings all differed, with some claiming everyone on the ship was “al-Qaeda” while others claimed that they had assault rifles which mysterious all disappeared after the incident. For the international community the mystifying array of wild stories and the footage of Israelis celebrating the deaths were a tough sell, to say the least.
Turkey, which is still pressing long-time ally Israel for an apology over the deaths, said that the comptroller’s report was not sufficient, and that a full apology was still being demanded.
some claiming everyone on the ship was “al-Qaeda” while others claimed that they had assault rifles which mysterious[ly] all disappeared The difference of opinion amounting to whether the fantasy rationale is better as a label or a physical prop.