An Israeli commission tasked with investigating the incident asserted Sunday in a report that the country's military had not broken international law:

"The commission alluded to what it called 'the regrettable consequences of the loss of human life and physical injuries,' ... but found that Israeli soldiers had acted 'professionally and in a measured manner in the face of extensive and unanticipated violence.'"

Six Turkish ships had attempted to break through the Israeli naval blockade of Gaza to deliver food and medicine May 31 when Israeli commandos stormed the largest ship, the Mavi Marmara.

The UN found last year that the ensuing violence amounted to a massacre on the part of the Israeli forces, described in their report as "willful killing" and "incredible violence."

Turkey, which continues to hold a grudge against Israel following the attack, dismissed the commission's findings as not credible:

"Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan denounced the findings. 'In my judgment there is no value or credibility to this report,' he told reporters in Ankara."  Turkey's own panel had found the incident to be illegal, while critics inside Israel said the Israeli panel was never intended to deliver a fair judgement:

"Some analysts were more skeptical about Israel’s chances of convincing the world, arguing that the commission’s findings were a foregone conclusion and that the panel members were picked by the Israeli government."

Israel has contended that a small group of extemists were among the 700 flotilla passengers, and that they instigated violence against the troops.  The UN found that the level of violence demonstrated by the activists, which apparenty amounted to throwing bottles and rocks, was excessively outmatched by Israeli soldiers.