Gaza ships: Israel 'sent in wrong men'

Israel appears to have sent in "the wrong kind of forces" in its fatal raid on aid ships bound for Gaza, a military expert tells Channel 4 News.

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At least 10 people died after the ships were raided yesterday, prompting a call from the UN for an investigation into the Israeli military mission.

The ships were carrying activists on their way to Gaza from Cyprus on a mission designed to draw attention to the Israeli blockade of the coastal territory.

Peter Cook, 49, a former Royal Marine officer who specialised in maritime counter-terrorism and security, and was linked to the Special Boat Service, told Channel 4 News the renowned Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) seemed to be the wrong men for the job.

Debate rages as to whether such a move - sending in Israeli Shayetet 13 commandos - was intentional or not.

Mr Cook told Channel 4 News: "I am surprised that they (Israel) allowed it to happen in this way because my experience of the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) is that they are very thorough in their preparations.

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"Whether the mission was botched or not I can't say, but it certainly didn't turn out the way I expected it to.

"I would say that they were the wrong kind of forces to do the job, even if they were the only option available; and the results we have seen are tragic."

Reports that Israel under-estimated the practical opposition from those on-board the ships have circulated in the Israeli media, amid claims commandos were armed primarily with paintball guns, and were only carrying live ammunition in their sidearms.

This rumour has been rejected as unlikely by some military strategists though, as better non-lethal alternatives are available to such forces.

Mr Cook told Channel 4 News: "It was ten ships in convoy going towards the coast and I am sure they (the IDF) would have had information and surveillance to identify what was on the ship; whether or not it was armed people or just protestors.

"I would have thought they could differentiate between the two.

"Maybe it was the only option available to them, or the people on the boat did not react as predicted, in that case, the rules of engagement state that these commandos were entitled to defend themselves against attack."

The relevant commandos specialise in more aggressive and hostile boarding operations, so a civilian opposition would not necessarily be their area of expertise.

Mr Cook, who was a Royal Marine for 25 years and now works as a maritime security consultant, told Channel 4 News: "From the outside, what appears to have been required to me is more of an arrest and restraint operation - a constabulary response, rather than a counter-terrorist one.

"But the commandos are designed to conduct a counter-terrorism operation, which is combating ideologically-based opponents who are trained to kill people, and are threatening lives.

"On the other hand, a constabulary situation is like walking into a riot and trying to control it.

"It's like the difference between the SAS storming into the Iranian embassy, as opposed to breaking up an anti-capitalism demonstration in the City. You wouldn't want the SAS going into the latter."

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