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Fifteen helicopter-borne Israeli naval commandos slid down ropes on to the deck of the ship of Mavi Marmara in a predawn raid, in an attempt to thwart the six-ship flotilla from breaching Israel's three-year naval blockade on Hamas-run Gaza.
Troops killed nine passengers, and wounded other dozens. Nine soldiers were also wounded in the melee, during which video footage shows the soldier met with stiff opposition from some of those on board and in the event used live fire.
The incident fuelled international outrage and a severe crisis in Turkish-Israeli relations. To dilute the international pressure, Israeli cabinet approved the establishment of the Turkel Committee, in the meanwhile, after an initial refusal, last week agreed to cooperate with a UN investigation of the takeover.
Netanyahu said in the hearing that his office focused on combating the international political and public relations fallout of the plan to take over the six craft.
At several points in his hour-and-a-half testimony, Netanyahu asked to respond during the afternoon closed-door session to questions about operational details of the raid, relations with Egypt over cooperation in its handling, as well as the identity of Israeli officials who contacted Turkish colleagues in an effort to head off the crisis, and other issues.
He acknowledged that Israel had failed at several stages in trying to either thwart or mitigate the diplomatic damage from the raid.
"We tried to prevent the launch of the flotilla at the diplomatic and security levels. We did not succeed. We suggested transferring the goods through the Ashdod and El-Arish ports. We did not succeed. We held continuous contacts with the most senior levels of the Turkish government. We did not succeed," Netanyahu admitted.