JERUSALEM: Israel will on Thursday return to Turkey three ships which were commandeered by the navy during a deadly raid on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla, the defence ministry said.
"The defence ministry will hand over to Turkish representatives on Thursday the Turkish vessels that tried to violate the naval blockade on the Hamas regime in the Gaza Strip, and which are now anchored in Israel," a statement from the ministry said.
The move to return the ships, included the Mavi Marmara passenger ferry which was at the centre of the violence, comes after a decision by the political leadership, it said.
"Three Turkish towing ships will arrive in Israel today. Their crews will receive three vessels anchored in Israel along with the personal equipment that was aboard them," the ministry said, without saying when the handover would take place.
The Mavi Marmara is currently docked at the northern port city of Haifa, while the other two vessels are understood to be in Ashdod port in the south.
All three were part of a six-ship flotilla which tried to run Israel’s naval blockade on the Gaza Strip on May 31.
Israeli navy commandos stormed all six ships in a botched raid which descended into violence and resulted in the deaths of nine Turkish activists and sparked a diplomatic crisis with Ankara.
Troops involved in the raid say they only resorted to lethal force after being attacked when they rappelled from helicopters onto the deck of the Mavi Marmara, which was carrying more than 600 passengers at the time.
But the activists on board say the naval commandos opened fire as soon as they boarded the ship, which was in international waters at the time.
Earlier this week, the United Nations announced it was opening an inquiry into the flotilla raid which would include both Israeli and Turkish participation. Israel has said it would cooperate with the inquiry.
