The report, however, praised the commandos who took part in the operation, saying they were justified in opening fire and killing nine after being confronted by violent pro-Palestinian activists on board one of the ships. The report concluded that intelligence-gathering was deficient and that various intelligence units did not communicate properly with each other. It criticized the operation's planners for not having a backup plan in the event of violence. It did not recommend any dismissals, though it is possible that some senior officers will be ousted or demoted in an ensuing shake-up. "We found that there were some professional mistakes regarding both the intelligence and the decision-making process and some operational mistakes," the report's author, retired general Giora Eiland, told reporters at a Defense Ministry briefing where declassified sections of the report were discussed. Some of the mistakes took place at fairly high levels of command, he added, giving few details. The report itself was not made public. The criticisms that were aired at the briefing — as well as the praise for the soldiers who took part in the raid — have been widely voiced inside Israel since the May 31 raid. Video footage of Israeli commandos being beaten by the activists on the Turkish vessel Mavi Marmara, coupled with an international outcry over the bloodshed, led Israelis to close ranks around their military. But the raid also had an effect opposite to the one Israel desired. It focused international attention on the three-year-old blockade on the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip and forced Israel to ease the movement of goods through land crossings. Israel's naval blockade on the territory, meant to keep weapons from reaching Hamas militants, remains in place. Later this week the blockade will be challenged again, this time by a Libyan protest ship. "If tomorrow we face a similar ship, we'll be able to stop it," Eiland said. "If there are dozens of people on board with cold weapons and they are committed to kill soldiers and committed to be killed, we can't guarantee they won't be killed," he added, referring to the knives, clubs and other weapons used by the activists on the one ship. Eiland made the observation after playing footage that he said showed passengers aboard the Mavi Marmara saying they wanted to die as martyrs. On the flotilla's five other ships there was only passive resistance. Organizers of the Libyan ship, which was sent by a charity group headed by the son of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, have said they do not seek confrontation with Israel but are determined to reach Gaza. "This ship is carrying humanitarian aid and its organizers are not looking for political propaganda or media campaigns or any provocation," said Youssef Sawani, executive director of the Gadhafi International Charity and Development Foundation, which dispatched the protest vessel. Sawani has said he hoped the vessel would reach Gaza by Tuesday. Israel has resisted calls for a U.N.-led inquiry into the raid, saying it would be biased. In addition to the investigation conducted for the military, Israel has appointed a civilian inquiry with a mandate limited to investigating the legality of the operation. Two international observers have been attached to the civilian commission, which is led by a retired Israeli Supreme Court judge. In unrelated news, the military plans to investigate the death of a Palestinian man killed by a tear gas canister fired by Israeli security forces during a protest against Israel's West Bank separation barrier 15 months ago, an Israeli human rights group said. The military had no public comment on the report by the B'tselem group, which had pressed for an investigation and rejected the military's original contention that Bassem Abu Rahmeh was standing in a group of Palestinians hurling rocks at troops. Video footage showed him shouting, not throwing rocks, when he was shot. Associated Press Writer Maggie Michael contributed to this report from Cairo.
The report, however, praised the commandos who took part in the operation, saying they were justified in opening fire and killing nine after being confronted by violent pro-Palestinian activists on board one of the ships. The report concluded that intelligence-gathering was deficient and that various intelligence units did not communicate properly with each other. It criticized the operation's planners for not having a backup plan in the event of violence. It did not recommend any dismissals, though it is possible that some senior officers will be ousted or demoted in an ensuing shake-up. "We found that there were some professional mistakes regarding both the intelligence and the decision-making process and some operational mistakes," the report's author, retired general Giora Eiland, told reporters at a Defense Ministry briefing where declassified sections of the report were discussed. Some of the mistakes took place at fairly high levels of command, he added, giving few details. The report itself was not made public. The criticisms that were aired at the briefing — as well as the praise for the soldiers who took part in the raid — have been widely voiced inside Israel since the May 31 raid. Video footage of Israeli commandos being beaten by the activists on the Turkish vessel Mavi Marmara, coupled with an international outcry over the bloodshed, led Israelis to close ranks around their military. But the raid also had an effect opposite to the one Israel desired. It focused international attention on the three-year-old blockade on the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip and forced Israel to ease the movement of goods through land crossings. Israel's naval blockade on the territory, meant to keep weapons from reaching Hamas militants, remains in place. Later this week the blockade will be challenged again, this time by a Libyan protest ship. "If tomorrow we face a similar ship, we'll be able to stop it," Eiland said. "If there are dozens of people on board with cold weapons and they are committed to kill soldiers and committed to be killed, we can't guarantee they won't be killed," he added, referring to the knives, clubs and other weapons used by the activists on the one ship. Eiland made the observation after playing footage that he said showed passengers aboard the Mavi Marmara saying they wanted to die as martyrs. On the flotilla's five other ships there was only passive resistance. Organizers of the Libyan ship, which was sent by a charity group headed by the son of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, have said they do not seek confrontation with Israel but are determined to reach Gaza. "This ship is carrying humanitarian aid and its organizers are not looking for political propaganda or media campaigns or any provocation," said Youssef Sawani, executive director of the Gadhafi International Charity and Development Foundation, which dispatched the protest vessel. Sawani has said he hoped the vessel would reach Gaza by Tuesday. Israel has resisted calls for a U.N.-led inquiry into the raid, saying it would be biased. In addition to the investigation conducted for the military, Israel has appointed a civilian inquiry with a mandate limited to investigating the legality of the operation. Two international observers have been attached to the civilian commission, which is led by a retired Israeli Supreme Court judge. In unrelated news, the military plans to investigate the death of a Palestinian man killed by a tear gas canister fired by Israeli security forces during a protest against Israel's West Bank separation barrier 15 months ago, an Israeli human rights group said. The military had no public comment on the report by the B'tselem group, which had pressed for an investigation and rejected the military's original contention that Bassem Abu Rahmeh was standing in a group of Palestinians hurling rocks at troops. Video footage showed him shouting, not throwing rocks, when he was shot. Associated Press Writer Maggie Michael contributed to this report from Cairo.
Frustration for Holland against Spain. European Ch'ships 2012 Win Outright: Holland 7/1 Johan Cruyff has launched a scathing attack on Holland's performance against Spain, slamming their "dirty" tactics and their style of "anti-football". Cruyff was at the heart of the Holland team that earned a reputation of playing 'Total Football' in the 1970s, and the pioneer of the style that earned the Dutch the reputation of being a joy to watch. The current Dutch side displayed a type of football that was the antithesis of that last night, as they lost 1-0 to Spain in the World Cup final, and a disappointed Cruyff admits it saddened him to witness the Dutch thuggery. "Thursday they asked me from Holland 'Can we play like Inter? Can we stop Spain in the same way Mourinho eliminated Barca?"' Cruyff told El Periodico, in reference to the way Inter Milan defended their way to a Champions League semi-final victory over Barcelona. "I said no, no way at all. I said no, not because I hate this style - I said no because I thought that my country wouldn't dare to and would never renounce their style. I said no because, without having great players like those of the past, the team has its own style. "I was wrong. Of course I'm not hanging all 11 of them by the same rope, but almost. They didn't want the ball. "And regrettably, sadly, they played very dirty. So much so that they should have been down to nine immediately, then they made two (such) ugly and hard tackles that even I felt the damage. "It hurts me that I was wrong in my disagreement that instead Holland chose an ugly path to aim for the title. "This ugly, vulgar, hard, hermetic, hardly eye-catching, hardly football style, yes it served the Dutch to unsettle Spain. If with this they got satisfaction, fine, but they ended up losing. "They were playing anti-football." Cruyff has also joined in with the criticism of Howard Webb, who has been heavily attacked for the way he managed last night's stormy game. Webb dished out 14 yellow cards - including two to send off Holland defender John Heitinga - but Cruyff believes he could have been even firmer, and should have dished out a red card for Nigel de Jong's karate kick to the chest of Xabi Alonso as well as handing a second booking to Arjen Robben for kicking the ball away. The 63-year-old added: "When we say, often, that we do not like talking about referees, it is true and, above all, because only refereeing like that last night by the English Howard Webb can create in us a state of such indignation that then yes, it is necessary to comment. "Because you can referee wrong, make a mistake, but what you can not do is create your own sense of justice and, even worse, invent a very personal application of the rules. "Not only did he not send off two Dutchmen (including Robben who deserved the second yellow) but he also looked the other way at times when he should have involved himself. "A World Cup final deserves great refereeing and, above all, deserves a referee who dares to do everything it means to be a judge."Cruyff critical of Dutch display
Frustration for Holland against Spain. European Ch'ships 2012 Win Outright: Holland 7/1 Johan Cruyff has launched a scathing attack on Holland's performance against Spain, slamming their "dirty" tactics and their style of "anti-football". Cruyff was at the heart of the Holland team that earned a reputation of playing 'Total Football' in the 1970s, and the pioneer of the style that earned the Dutch the reputation of being a joy to watch. The current Dutch side displayed a type of football that was the antithesis of that last night, as they lost 1-0 to Spain in the World Cup final, and a disappointed Cruyff admits it saddened him to witness the Dutch thuggery. "Thursday they asked me from Holland 'Can we play like Inter? Can we stop Spain in the same way Mourinho eliminated Barca?"' Cruyff told El Periodico, in reference to the way Inter Milan defended their way to a Champions League semi-final victory over Barcelona. "I said no, no way at all. I said no, not because I hate this style - I said no because I thought that my country wouldn't dare to and would never renounce their style. I said no because, without having great players like those of the past, the team has its own style. "I was wrong. Of course I'm not hanging all 11 of them by the same rope, but almost. They didn't want the ball. "And regrettably, sadly, they played very dirty. So much so that they should have been down to nine immediately, then they made two (such) ugly and hard tackles that even I felt the damage. "It hurts me that I was wrong in my disagreement that instead Holland chose an ugly path to aim for the title. "This ugly, vulgar, hard, hermetic, hardly eye-catching, hardly football style, yes it served the Dutch to unsettle Spain. If with this they got satisfaction, fine, but they ended up losing. "They were playing anti-football." Cruyff has also joined in with the criticism of Howard Webb, who has been heavily attacked for the way he managed last night's stormy game. Webb dished out 14 yellow cards - including two to send off Holland defender John Heitinga - but Cruyff believes he could have been even firmer, and should have dished out a red card for Nigel de Jong's karate kick to the chest of Xabi Alonso as well as handing a second booking to Arjen Robben for kicking the ball away. The 63-year-old added: "When we say, often, that we do not like talking about referees, it is true and, above all, because only refereeing like that last night by the English Howard Webb can create in us a state of such indignation that then yes, it is necessary to comment. "Because you can referee wrong, make a mistake, but what you can not do is create your own sense of justice and, even worse, invent a very personal application of the rules. "Not only did he not send off two Dutchmen (including Robben who deserved the second yellow) but he also looked the other way at times when he should have involved himself. "A World Cup final deserves great refereeing and, above all, deserves a referee who dares to do everything it means to be a judge."Cruyff critical of Dutch display
