Aid flotilla raiders cleared

Israel's military hierarchy has been cleared of significant wrongdoing after an inquiry concluded that the deadly naval raid on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla six weeks ago was error-free.

The probe, conducted by the armed forces and led by a retired general, found that there was more to praise than condemn in the operation that killed nine Turks.

General Giora Eiland lauded the "professionalism, bravery and resourcefulness" of the commandos and ruled the use of live fire "justified".

He made some mild criticisms of the way intelligence about the flotilla was gathered and how the raid was planned but denied these were "errors" or "failures".