Dubai: The Turkish government and activists involved in the ill-fated Freedom Flotilla to Gaza in May welcomed as "objective" a scathing report by the United Nations Human Rights Council that accused Israel of wilful killing and torture.
Israeli commandos stormed the six-vessel flotilla in the early hours of May 31, killing nine Turkish activists on the biggest passenger vessel, the Mavi Marmara.
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Read part 2 of the eyewitness account
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The commission threw out Israel's argument that activists on the aid ship were violent thereby justifying the decision to open fire, adding that some had been the victim of actions "consistent with ... summary execution."
"The report is extremely unbiased and based on sound evidence. We appreciate it". Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu was quoted by the Anatolia news agency as telling reporters in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.
Read the full-version of the UN report
"It meets our expectations. I hope the Israeli side will... from now on act within international law," he added.
Clear evidence
Israel rejected the report as "biased" and "one-sided". Israel had refused to cooperate with the investigation.
The report, released Wednesday, said there was "clear evidence to support prosecutions" of crimes including "wilful killing; torture or inhuman treatment" by Israel.
Hussain Oruc, a spokesperson for the Turkish relief organisation IHH which owns the Mavi Marmara, echoed Davutoglu's position, saying that the report was "very objective".
"Most importantly, it said that the soldiers wilfully killed activists, which we have been saying all along," he said.
Forensic reports had revealed that the nine activists were shot a total of 30 times, some at close range, in the head, and in the back.
Haneen Zoubi, a Palestinian-Israeli member of Israel's parliament, the Knesset, who was also aboard the Mavi Marmara, said it was not enough to condemn Israel's actions, but bring those responsible for the killings to justice.
"Israel uses tactics designed to distort and mislead. It is high time that all of Israel's activities were exposed internationally," she said. "Israel is not deterred by condemnation, but by punishment and by being held accountable".
The report appeared to back a Turkish demand that Israel pay compensation for the victims, saying that victims had a right to reparations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
Oruc, however, said that "the solution is not money. It's a change in [Israeli] mentality". "If there is a crime, there has to be a punishment and money is not enough," he said.
