Israeli PM defends flotilla attack, calls criticism hypocritical

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Israel: At least 9 pro-Palestinian activists killed on Gaza flotilla carrying aid

Israeli naval commandos seized an aid flotilla bound for the Gaza Strip early Monday, killing at least nine and wounding dozens, and sparking protests and condemnations around the world.

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Eleven American citizens who were being held at Ela prison were expected to be deported Wednesday, according to the Interior Ministry.

The United States continued to tread carefully in public -- expressing regret about the deaths but not condemning Israel's actions. Behind the scenes, administration officials pressed Israel to make sure the incident is not repeated, especially with a new aid ship heading for the besieged coastal strip within days.

Israeli Ambassador Michael B. Oren and national security adviser Uzi Arad spent four hours in meetings Tuesday at the White House, including a session with James L. Jones, President Obama's national security adviser. The meetings focused on how to contain the immediate diplomatic fallout from the raid, which has endangered the push for sanctions against Iran and peace efforts in the Middle East.

The discussions also explored ways for future humanitarian deliveries to reach Gaza without jeopardizing Israel's security, a White House official said. Behind the White House's message was a sense within the administration that Israel's approach toward upholding its blockade is unworkable over the long term, and the focus now is on preventing another deadly raid at sea.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton told Defense Minster Ehud Barak during a phone conversation that "we should be extremely cautious in both what we say and what we do in coming days," State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said.

The Obama administration faces a difficult balancing act as it tries to patch up relations with Israel while not letting Arab anger over the raid, which left nine activists dead, undercut its outreach to the Muslim world.

While Israeli officials closed ranks in fending off international criticism, the internal debate in Israel focused on why the government and the military had permitted the operation to turn into a public relations fiasco that has tarnished Israeli relations with onetime allies, especially Turkey. Israeli officials were adamant that their policy toward Gaza will not change.

A public opinion poll Wednesday in the Israeli daily Maariv illustrated local support for the political leadership but discontent with the way the Navy seized the flotilla. Seventy-five percent said Barak doesn't need to resign; 89 percent said Netanyahu shouldn't resign. But 63 percent of those asked said the Navy should have stopped the flotilla in a different way. The country was split on the question of whether Israel should establish a commission to investigate what happened with 46 percent saying yes and 52 percent saying no.

Israeli military Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi, while visiting navy commandos who were wounded during clashes aboard the 600-passenger Mavi Marmara ship early Monday, said everything would be studied, "from the commander of the navy to the last of the soldiers, in order to learn for the future."

Netanyahu, who returned home Tuesday after canceling a trip to Washington, convened his security advisers for a four-hour review that covered Monday's raid, the diplomatic fallout from the incident and how to contend with other attempts to breach the blockade. An Israeli official said no change has been made to Israel's policy to stop ships from reaching Gaza, which Israeli forces have kept under a maritime blockade since the Islamist Hamas movement took control of the strip in 2007.

Israeli commandos seized five ships in an aid flotilla early Monday but fought with protesters aboard a sixth. Israeli officials say the demonstrators attacked the commandos with axes and metal rods, while flotilla organizers say the troops used excessive force on unarmed civilians.

Even as Israeli officials defended their right to use force to uphold the blockade, Israeli commentators decried the raid, and some called for Barak to resign. Others blamed the military. A former senior Israeli military official said the navy tried "to be like Rambo" and "gave this kind of illusion to the political level that they can carry it out very easily without complications. It's the navy chief who is responsible."