After his appearance two months ago, IDF Chief of Staff Lieutenant-General Gabi Ashkenazi appeared before the Turkel Committee, investigating the raid on May's Gaza-bound flotilla on Sunday, for the second time.
Committee chairman Judge Jacob Turkel praised the army's cooperation with the committee but intimated that neverthless, additional military personnel may be called to testify.
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The chief of staff began his statements by noting that the level of detail included in the interal reports handed to the panel by the army was unprecedented: "The reports enhance my sense of pride and confidence in the soldiers. It reaffirmed the conclusions and illustrated the violent preparation and our measured response," he said.
Ashkenazi stressed that "the soldiers did not immediately open fire and even risked themselves to a great extent. One of them, who was being strangled, used a nearby shock grenade to rescue himself."
He stressed that the commandos acted in a restrained manner and did not hurt those "who should not have been hurt."
During the testimony, Turkel turned to Ashkenazi and asked: "Why weren't shock grenades used when the helicopters were hovering over the ship and the soldiers were being lowered down?"
Ashkenazi replied: "It's not easy hovering over another ship and lowering down soldiers. It's not the same as over a building roof. We used shock grenades before soldiers were lowered down."
Another member of the committee noted: "You hurled them and it did not have any effect."
Looting claims
The IDF chief also addressed the looting claims for the first time and said, "These are wild weeds who damaged the IDF's reputation. We shall deal with the matter to the full extent of the law."
He nevertheless asked to repeat before the panel the words of a Turkish journalist who was on board the ship. "His statements attest the fair treatment the IDF soldiers showed the flotilla participants," Ashkenazi said.
In his first testimony in August, the IDF chief took responsibility for the army's actions and said he was "proud" of the soldiers who took part in the raid.
Dor Glick contributed to this report
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