RELATED:Turkel: Flotilla raid was in accordance with int'l lawNetanyahu praises Turkel commission’s report ‘We have no doubt that the Commission is independent’Analysis: Gaza no longer ‘occupied territory' Even when the committee appeared to start criticizing the IDF for the so-called intelligence failure that led the IDF to send naval commandos to board the Mavi Marmara with non-lethal weapons, the panel seemed, even there, to find a way out for the IDF.The report’s findings did not come as a surprise and did a great job at convincing the convinced.Appointed by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to investigate the IDF operation to stop the flotilla, as well as the legality of the blockade on Gaza, Turkel knew what everyone else knew immediately after watching the videos from the Mavi Marmara’s upper deck – that the soldiers were the ones who were lynched.Still, Israel can take some pride in the way it investigates itself, compared to, say, the Turkish committee set up by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The Israeli committee worked on its report for seven months, while the Turkish panel sat for a mere three weeks. The Israeli commission had almost complete transparency, with open hearings, a website and regular press releases. The Turkish probe had none of that.Netanyahu made a shrewd decision to appoint two foreign observers to sit on the committee, to counter claims that Israel could not investigate itself – as Erdogan claimed on Sunday, after the Turkel Report came out.While this vindication is important for Israel, the real test still lies ahead: whether United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki moon will accept the Turkel committee’s conclusions at face value and as a credible investigative report.Even if he does, there is no hiding the fact that Israeli-Turkish relations are still at the lowest point ever in the two countries’ joint history, and eight months after the Mavi Marmara was stopped, there does not appear to be any resolution in sight.While the Foreign Ministry tends to play down the significance of those ties, the defense establishment does not. Within the IDF there is real concern about the changes taking place throughout the Middle East – among them the growing Turkish- Iranian alliance.
Turkel report does good job of convincing the convinced
Analysis: The commission's findings could not have been more favorable for Israel, the Defense Ministry and the IDF.
RELATED:Turkel: Flotilla raid was in accordance with int'l lawNetanyahu praises Turkel commission’s report ‘We have no doubt that the Commission is independent’Analysis: Gaza no longer ‘occupied territory' Even when the committee appeared to start criticizing the IDF for the so-called intelligence failure that led the IDF to send naval commandos to board the Mavi Marmara with non-lethal weapons, the panel seemed, even there, to find a way out for the IDF.The report’s findings did not come as a surprise and did a great job at convincing the convinced.Appointed by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to investigate the IDF operation to stop the flotilla, as well as the legality of the blockade on Gaza, Turkel knew what everyone else knew immediately after watching the videos from the Mavi Marmara’s upper deck – that the soldiers were the ones who were lynched.Still, Israel can take some pride in the way it investigates itself, compared to, say, the Turkish committee set up by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The Israeli committee worked on its report for seven months, while the Turkish panel sat for a mere three weeks. The Israeli commission had almost complete transparency, with open hearings, a website and regular press releases. The Turkish probe had none of that.Netanyahu made a shrewd decision to appoint two foreign observers to sit on the committee, to counter claims that Israel could not investigate itself – as Erdogan claimed on Sunday, after the Turkel Report came out.While this vindication is important for Israel, the real test still lies ahead: whether United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki moon will accept the Turkel committee’s conclusions at face value and as a credible investigative report.Even if he does, there is no hiding the fact that Israeli-Turkish relations are still at the lowest point ever in the two countries’ joint history, and eight months after the Mavi Marmara was stopped, there does not appear to be any resolution in sight.While the Foreign Ministry tends to play down the significance of those ties, the defense establishment does not. Within the IDF there is real concern about the changes taking place throughout the Middle East – among them the growing Turkish- Iranian alliance.