JERUSALEM, Sept 23 (Reuters) - Israel said it would study a U.N. inquiry's conclusion that its deadly raid on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla violated international humanitarian law, but again rejected the investigators' mandate as "biased".
Three international experts assigned by the U.N. Human Rights Council to investigate the May 31 incident, in which nine Turkish activists were killed, said in a report on Wednesday that the commando attack was unlawful.
Israel refused to cooperate with the panel and launched its own probe into the assault it said was carried out to enforce a naval blockade on Hamas-ruled Gaza, and that its troops opened fire in defence against activists wielding knives and clubs.
In a statement posted on its web site, the Israeli Foreign Ministry reaffirmed Israel's shunning of the U.N. council that it denounced as "biased, politicised and extremist," citing a council report of last year that condemned an earlier Gaza war.
"Israel will nonetheless read and study the report."
Israel, the statement said, "carefully observes international law and when need be knows how to investigate itself", and that a panel headed by Jacob Turkel, a retired high court justice, was still looking into the matter.
Judges from Britain and Trinidad and a Malaysian human rights campaigner said in the report they plan to formally submit next week that Israeli forces used "totally unnecessary and incredible violence" in intercepting the flotilla.
They accused Israel of using "an unacceptable level of brutality" and of committing "grave violations of human rights law and international humanitarian law".
Turkey, whose once close ties with Israel have frayed since the incident, said it was satisfied with the experts' report and urged Israel to respect its findings.
"We expected a strong report with concrete evidence from the commission formed by the Human Rights Council. The report has met our expectations in that sense," Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told Anatolian state news agency.
"We hope that the Israeli side will also learn to use the language of law, or that it acts within that frame. That's what we expect from them," Davutoglu added. (Writing by Allyn Fisher-Ilan; Editing by Mark Heinrich) (allyn.fisher.thomsonreuters.com; +972-2-632202; Reuters Messaging:allyn.fisher.thomsonreuters.com@thomsonreuters.net))
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