US President Donald Trump wants to privatise air traffic control operations, creating a not-for-profit company to oversee functions now handled by the federal government.

The White House on Monday said the plan would modernise the US system, reducing costs and delays.
The idea has circulated in Washington for years without moving forward.
But officials say that with Republicans in control of Congress and the White House, it is time to try again.
"We're proposing to take American air travel into the future, finally," Mr Trump said.
Monday's announcement was the first to come during a week in which the administration hopes to focus on policy changes they say will improve US roads, bridges and airports.
The subject is safer territory for the White House, which has run into trouble on a number of initiatives such as tax reform and is facing political pressure over Mr Trump's comments about terrorism, financial conflicts of interest and relationship with Russia.
The plan to privatise air traffic control was included in Mr Trump's budget proposal.
Officials on Monday said they want the Federal Aviation Administration to continue its role in safety enforcement. But oversight of air traffic management and the nearly 30,000 workers in that area would go to a private not-for-profit organisation.
Supporters of the plan, which include many of the major US airlines, say the current system slows the introduction of new technology and makes funding subject to the unpredictable whims of Congress.
They point to the slow-going move from a radar-based system to one that uses GPS technologies as evidence of a need for change.
Airline stocks were mixed after the announcement. Delta Air Lines, which had opposed the idea, traded down on Monday but shares of American Airlines opened higher.
The plan will need to get through Congress for approval. Mr Trump's budget proposal said the change would take effect in 2021 and estimated the reform would increase the budget deficit by about $45bn (Â£35bn) over 10 years.
Representative Nancy Pelosi, who leads Democrats in the House, called the idea a "tired Republican plan that both sides of the aisle have rejected".
"Selling off our Air Traffic Control system threatens passenger safety, undermines the FAA's ongoing modernisation, jeopardises access to rural airports and adds to the deficit," she said in a statement.
The National Air Traffic Controllers Association, a union that represents about 20,000 air traffic controllers, engineers and other workers, took a more measured tone.
The organisation, which supported a similar proposal last year, said it believes more reliable funding streams are critical, but wants to see "specifics".
"We look forward to reviewing the specifics of the air traffic control (ATC) reform legislation so we can evaluate whether it satisfies our Union's principles, including protecting the rights and benefits of the ATC workforce," president Paul Rinaldi said in a statement.


The Welsh Government can expect "tens of millions of pounds" to spend on building projects in Wednesday's Autumn Statement, BBC Wales has been told.

Chancellor Phillip Hammond will share £250m between the devolved governments in Cardiff, Edinburgh and Belfast.
The Welsh Government could use the money to build or repair schools and hospitals.
Finance Secretary Mark Drakeford said he wants permission to borrow more.
Plaid Cymru MP Jonathan Edwards said he believed "Wales is being asked to settle for crumbs from the Westminster table."
UKIP AM Mark Reckless called for a plan on how to spend money saved by Brexit.
Sources in the UK Government have said Mr Hammond will announce that over a billion pounds will be spent to improve roads in England.
As a result, £250m will be made available to share between the nations.
The Welsh Government does not have to spend the money on roads, and could use it for infrastructure projects.
Mr Drakeford said it was "a prime opportunity for the UK government to move away from its damaging policy of austerity and provide the fiscal stimulus needed to support growth".
He also said the proposed investment deal for the Swansea Bay region and a growth deal for north Wales "need to be taken forward as a matter of priority".
A so-called "city deal" for the Cardiff region was approved by former Chancellor George Osborne in the 2015 autumn statement.
Mr Drakeford added that air passenger duty should also be devolved.
"Despite real-terms cuts to our overall budget by the UK government, we are doing all we can to protect our public services from the worst effects of ongoing austerity and fiscal uncertainty," added Mr Drakeford.
"Now is the time for a new approach - that's why we want the UK government to end its austerity politics and provide a much-needed infrastructure investment stimulus."
Plaid Cymru treasury spokesman Mr Edwards said: "Westminster's austerity programme has starved our economy and the chancellor must acknowledge this and act accordingly.
"Some parts of the UK have seen major infrastructure investment but Wales is asked to settle for crumbs from the Westminster table," he added.
"The chancellor must use his Autumn Statement to get a handle on the economy and make it work for all parts of the UK, rather than just the south east of England."
UKIP economy spokesman Mark Reckless AM said his party wanted to see a "fiscally responsible" approach from the government.
He said this would include a reduction in overseas aid, plans for how to deploy money saved from leaving the European Union and abolition of the Severn Bridge tolls within the current Parliament.
The Welsh Conservatives have also been asked to comment.


While many people will spend the run-up to Christmas worrying about what gifts they have yet to buy, others will worry about whether they have a place to sleep.

In Wales, thousands of people will spend the festive season on the streets.
One of them is Tony, who has spent six years without a permanent home.
He has struggled to survive on Wrexham's streets and lost about 25 friends - many to drugs.
In Needle Woods, he has to tread carefully because the leaves on the ground can hide the needles that give this place its nickname.
It is not really a wood, but a few trees in between Wrexham's police station and one of the town's busiest supermarkets.
Most people will have driven past it, unaware this is where Tony, and other homeless people, sometimes bed down for the night.
Among the leaves lie a drug user's stericup, empty cans of lager and strips of foil.
Withering flowers and two sympathy cards hang on a nearby tree. This, Tony says, is where a friend died a few weeks ago.
"He'd been off heroin for a while because he'd been in prison, so his tolerance had gone down" Tony recalled. "He decided to have a dig of heroin but unfortunately he overdosed and he ended up dying."
It is not the first friend Tony has lost on the streets. In the six years he has been homeless "probably 20 or 25 have died" - many from drug abuse.
Although he experimented a few times with amphetamines years ago, Tony did not take drugs regularly until he became homeless.
"I was on the streets about four months before I actually touched amphetamine again," he said.
"It was on a low day... and ever since that day I was taking amphetamine again. I couldn't get off it. I was taking more and more.
"It keeps you warm because it speeds your heart up, keeps you going, stops you sleeping so you can keep on going all night. It seemed to suit my lifestyle.
"It's really, really hard when you're on the streets. The drugs seem to suit the situation I'm in. It just makes me feel better on the streets, to cope with it. I don't have to think about things as much.
"It numbs my feelings in that way so I don't have to think so much about what I'm missing... my kids, that life, and it genuinely makes it easier. It makes me feel normal... more normal."
Shoplifting paid for the drugs. It also led to a five-and-a-half month jail sentence. Following release, he was back on the streets - and back on the drugs.
A former painter and decorator with two young children before his marriage broke down, Tony, now 53, found himself homeless at the age of 47.
The first six months were the worst.
"It was just getting used to it, adjusting, realising I didn't really have a life anymore," he remembered.
"It was just existing from day to day, having people look at you like you're dirt on their shoe.
"It's still devastating to me now but I've adapted. I had to adapt and harden myself up a bit."
Asked how he would sum up the past six years of his life, he said: "That's a hard one. Devastation, obviously, because of my family. I don't have any contact with them now.
"I used to have a life - now I haven't really. There's no quality there. It's just getting by every day."
A short walk from Needle Woods, next to a busy road, stands a tall brick cross outside a church. It is hollow at the bottom, large enough for a couple of people to shelter from the elements.
A few years ago, during a deep freeze, Tony and a friend crawled inside.
"We woke up in the early hours of the morning, both shivering, and in the first stages of hypothermia I'd say," Tony said.
"There was a thick layer of frost on our clothes. It was a good job we woke up that night... it's the closest thing I've ever come to dying since I've been on the streets."
Knowing the best sleeping spots is crucial to survival. You rarely see people on park benches, Tony explains, "unless they're that tired they just fall where they are".
"Usually you find a place hidden away, out of the way of the public - a quiet place down an alley, a woods, behind shops - anywhere really, just to get out of public view," he said.
"You can be attacked at any time... go to sleep, you can be robbed. It's just always there. You've constantly got to be on your guard."
Drunken revellers at closing time are always a threat, Tony says, with homeless people easy targets for violence "just for fun".
Sometimes, it is fellow homeless people you need to worry about, when they "pretend to be your friends, get a relationship going... then they'll rob you as soon as your back's turned".
At the back of the town's leisure centre are the tell-tale signs a rough sleeper has spent the night - empty beer cans, tin foil, a few scraps of food.
Homeless people like it here, Tony says. Hot air is pumped through vents and it "warms your body up a couple of degrees and just takes the edge off" the cold.
The winter months are always hardest, "especially when it starts raining. You get wet, then it gets cold, freezing later on," he said.
"Once you're wet you can't dry yourself really. You can't go in places because they don't want you in there."
Some nights, Tony sleeps at the Ty Nos night shelter, run by Clwyd Alyn Housing Association.
Those lucky enough to find a bed for the night are also fed. However, the centre can only sleep 16 people a night, and with demand high, a space is never guaranteed.
"You're cold, you're hungry," he says. "It's just devastating to go back out in the cold and just bear and grin it all night. You know you've got all night to suffer it then."
Every day is hard on the streets. Things get harder at Christmas though.
"People start thinking about their families, friends," he says. "If you've got kids, especially. It is hard, really tough.
"This isn't life, this is just existing. It's just horrible.
"You're constantly depressed and you're really just longing for something to change, something to happen, almost like a miracle to happen... pluck you out of the situation and put you somewhere else.
"It feels like you're in a bad, bad nightmare."


Ding Junhui's run to the final of the World Championship boosted TV audiences in China to 210 million.

Ding became the first Asian man to reach the final, where he was beaten 18-14 by world number one Mark Selby.
The afternoon sessions of the final, which was played on Sunday and Monday, were watched by more than 45 million in China, the highest sports audiences for post-prime time programmes this year.
The total global audience for the tournament was over 300 million.
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One in four Yorkshire MPs have received death threats or abuse in the past three years, a BBC investigation has found.

It comes as advice on how to beef up security is being offered to all MPs in West Yorkshire following the death of the Batley and Spen Labour MP Jo Cox.
The 41-year-old was shot and stabbed in her constituency in Birstall in June.
In a survey of 58 Yorkshire MPs, 18 responded and 14 of those said they had received some sort of abuse.
That abuse was either in person, through a letter or on social media.
Of those who responded, 44% of them said they had received a death threat.
The results of the survey have been revealed in the week police are advising local MPs on their security.
Ass Ch Con Mark Milsom, from West Yorkshire Police, said: "We can give them some very simple advice in terms of how they conduct their business, where they go to, how they meet people.
"Things that can go a long way to make them feel more confident."
The training comes a few weeks after it was revealed MPs across the country could sign up for a free course in a form of self-defence called Krav Maga, which combines jiu jitsu, judo, boxing and street fighting.
Many MPs have expressed concern over their personal safety, including Labour MP for Halifax Holly Lynch.
She said she and her staff carry personal attack alarms to alert police if they are assaulted.
"Having been an activist for the Labour Party in Halifax, I'm very used to going out and talking to people, getting on their doorsteps, having those quite frank and robust conversations at times," she said.
"But... you have opened yourself up to an awful lot of quite serious criticisms, which ventures into abuse and threats, which certainly takes some getting used to."
Thomas Mair, 52, has been charged with Jo Cox's murder, grievous bodily harm, possession of a firearm with intent to commit an indictable offence and possession of an offensive weapon.
78%
received abuse in person or online
44%
received death threats
89% made revisions to security
28% were harassed or stalked


Relatives of a teacher who is seriously ill in a Turkish hospital have launched a desperate appeal to have her brought back to Scotland.

Caroline Hope, who is from Clydebank, was diagnosed with cancer in January while working as an English teacher.
She was initially successfully treated for colon cancer but has since become gravely ill after contracting E.coli.
Current guidelines strictly limit the repatriation of UK citizens for medical reasons.
Ms Hope, who is 37, moved to Turkey four years ago to teach at an international school in the country.
Her employer had taken out insurance to cover Ms Hope's stay at the Medical Park Hospital in Izmir. However, that insurance is due to expire at the end of July.
Her mother, Catherine Hope, told the BBC that the family did not have the money to pay for a private medical evacuation back to the UK.
She said: "It's Â£29,000 to get her home. We thought the diplomatic service would help us, but they haven't."
Mrs Hope, who is flying to Turkey on Wednesday, said her son Scott had broken the news to her at the weekend about her daughter's condition.
She said: "Scott said to me on Saturday 'mum, Caroline is dying'.
"He said 'we've got to get her out of there. I've phoned the British Consulate and they said they can't repatriate as they don't have an arrangement with Turkey'".
Mrs Hope added: "I was hoping that she would stay where she was until she was well enough and then I would go out and bring her back with me and get her admitted to a hospital or nursing home and then find out what they can do for her."
Mrs Hope's local MP, Martin Docherty, has written to Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson to raise the case.
Scott Hope said the family were desperate to move his sister back to Scotland, where she could be cared for by them.
He said: "I'm basically trying everything possible that a brother would do for a sister and I'm sure that anybody would do for a member of their family.
"When all options are basically down, the only option is to draw attention to our situation and basically beg on compassionate grounds that somebody is going to turn around from the Scottish government or from the UK government and say 'you know what, we're going to get this girl home'".
Mr Hope said his sister's condition had deteriorated significantly in recent days. He said: "They've got a crash team in her room and they're very worried in terms of her blood pressure and her condition and what it is just now.
"We've got a limited time and a limited amount of funds to stay in Turkey and the thing that would probably kill me the most is my time running out and having to still leave her in that hospital."
A Scottish government spokeswoman said: "This is a difficult time for the Hope family, and in these circumstances, we would expect the Turkish health authorities to contact the receiving NHS Scotland Board to discuss what healthcare support might be necessary on her return to Scotland.
"We are happy to bring this case to the attention of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and the British Consul, so the appropriate services can be offered by them."
The UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office said they were aware of the case but refused to comment further.


Irish man Kevin Mallon, who was arrested in Brazil earlier this month over alleged illegal ticket sales at Rio 2016, has been released on bail.

Mr Mallon, a Dublin-based director of THG Sports, was granted bail after a Supreme Court ruling in Brasilia.
He was released from the maximum security Bangu 10 prison at about 22:00 local time (02:00 BST).
Mr Mallon and his legal team left the prison without making any comment.
Under his bail conditions, Mr Mallon must stay in Brazil and adhere to a 20:00 local time curfew.
He must also inform authorities as to his whereabouts and is banned from all Olympic and Paralympic venues.
Mr Mallon was also due to be electronically tagged.
A court in Rio ruled it was not necessary after his release was delayed because of a lack of electronic ankle bracelets.
The THG director was arrested on 5 August. Police said that more than 700 tickets, organised in envelopes and marked for sale, were found in a safe with him.
THG, a corporate and sports hospitality group based in London, said Mr Mallon did not sell or seek to sell the tickets but was holding them for collection by clients of Pro 10 Management.
Pro 10 are the authorised Irish ticket reseller.
On Saturday, THG said it welcomed the news of Mr Mallon's bail and would work to secure his full release.
It said it believes the company and its executives will be vindicated when all of the evidence is reviewed.
It is believed Mr Mallon has been sharing a cell with former OCI president Pat Hickey in Bangu 10 prison.
Mr Hickey, 71, has also been arrested in connection with illegal ticket sales. He denies any wrongdoing.
On Friday, Irish foreign minister Charlie Flanagan agreed to meet with the family of Mr Hickey after they said they were "gravely concerned" about his health and his continued detention.
The Olympic Council of Ireland has appointed accountants Grant Thornton to conduct an independent review of its handling of ticketing arrangements for the Rio games.
It says the review will be completed by 10 October and passed to Judge Carroll Moran to consider as part of the Irish government's inquiry deliberations.


More than two million Tibetans have been resettled by the Chinese government over the last seven years, a new report by Human Rights Watch says.

Many, including hundreds of thousands of nomads, were forced into so-called "socialist villages", the group says.
The aim is to exert tighter political control over ethnic Tibetans, says HRW.
China denies forced evictions.  This comes amid reports that restrictions on the worship of the Dalai Lama have been eased in some areas.
But the BBC was unable to confirm claims that Buddhists in China's Tibetan areas were able to openly worship their exiled spiritual leader and that some temples were displaying portraits of him.
Images from Google Earth published by Human Rights Watch appear to show the mass destruction of existing housing and the construction of villages with uniform rows of new buildings.
"The government has started to despatch new teams of Communist Party officials to each single village of the Tibet Autonomous Region," explained Nicholas Bequelin, Asia Researcher with Human Rights Watch.
"The new personnel stationed in these villages have been instructed to eat, live and work with the villagers and that includes monitoring their political opinions and identifying whose loyalty to the Party or the government is questionable."
The Chinese government has consistently maintained that it is pouring billions of dollars into Tibet in order to bolster its economy and improve the Tibetans' way of life.
However, tensions remain. In the past four years, at least 117 Tibetans have set themselves on fire to protest at Chinese government rule, resulting in 90 deaths.
Many Tibetans resent the influx of Han Chinese into Tibet and the Communist Party's restrictions on their religious freedoms.
In response, the Chinese government has tightened surveillance over the entire Tibetan plateau. In cities, the authorities appear to be keeping tabs on potential troublemakers by dividing each neighbourhood along a grid system.
The new security system is designed to closely monitor the situation at street-level to prevent a repeat of mass protests that centred in Lhasa, the capital of Tibet, in March 2008.
In addition, the report says, about 300,000 nomadic herders have been relocated and settled since the early 2000s and the authorities have reportedly announced their intention to turn an additional 113,000 into sedentary dwellers by the end of 2013.
In a separate development, some Buddhists in China's Tibetan areas are now able to openly worship their exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, according to Radio Free Asia. In an experimental change in policy, some temples can openly display portraits of the Dalai Lama and no one is allowed to criticise him.
Tibetan Buddhists are allowed to worship their leader in his role as a religious figure and not a political one, according to sources quoted by RFA.
If this policy change is true, it could represent a significant relaxation of the Communist Party's attitudes towards the Dalai Lama.
For years, senior Communist officials have infuriated Tibetan Buddhists by referring to the Dalai Lama by a series of derogatory names. Zhang Qingli, the Communist Party chief in charge of Tibet until 2011, famously referred to the Buddhist cleric as "a wolf in monk's robes".
Still, it is far from clear whether an experimental policy is under way. And some analysts say that, if true, it may simply be because the authorities had  failed to stamp out worship of the Dalai Lama and use of his image in monasteries.
The BBC contacted the Communist Party's State Administration for Religious Affairs, headquartered in Beijing, for confirmation of this change in policy.
The Tibet issue: Two views
Inside Tibet
The administration did not respond to the BBC's repeated requests for comment.  China's state-run media are also silent on a possible change of policy towards the Dalai Lama.
One source at a Buddhist temple in Qinghai province said that he had heard about the change in policy but could not speak about it on the telephone. The source refused to give his name.
A spokesperson for the Central Tibetan Administration, the Tibetan government in exile based in  Dharamshala, India, said he had heard reports of the experimental policy, but had not been able to verify its existence.
"Such reports, if true, are localised reports," notes Tashi Phuntsok, secretary for the department for information and international relations for Tibet's government-in-exile. "It is possible some areas have adopted a softer policy to prevent further self-immolations."
"I've seen similar news online," one monk in Sichuan's Ganzi Prefecture told the BBC by phone. "I don't know if it is true or not. But it's certainly not happening here."
Another monk in Sichuan's Aba Prefecture, where many of the self-immolations have taken place, admitted: "I have not heard of this news. But we cannot hang the Dalai Lama's portrait inside the monastery or worship him openly.
"We can only do it in secret. Not in our monastery, not in the monastery around here either, not that I know."


Tunisia's president has announced three days of national mourning for six officers killed by suspected militants in the central Sidi Bouzidi province.

President Moncef Marzouki was speaking on the second anniversary of the country's first free elections.
Earlier, PM Ali Larayedh confirmed the government would resign after talks with the opposition on appointing a caretaker administration were complete.
The negotiations are aimed at ending months of political crisis in Tunisia.
The prime minister said his moderate Islamist-led government was committed to the "principle of relinquishing power in line with the different phases envisaged in the roadmap".
"We will not submit to anyone except the interests of the country," he said.
His address came after thousands of anti-government protesters marched through the capital, Tunis, calling for the government to go.
The political crisis was triggered by the assassination of two prominent opposition politicians earlier this year.
The deadlock has threatened to disrupt a democratic transition that began after Tunisians threw out their decades-old authoritarian government at the beginning of the 2011 uprisings, widely referred to as the Arab Spring.
Earlier this month, the governing Ennahda party agreed to step aside in favour of a caretaker government, which would run the country until fresh elections are held.
Ennahda and the opposition now have three weeks to appoint the interim cabinet. They also have one month to adopt a new constitution, electoral laws and set an election date.
Since the 2011 revolt, Tunisia has seen a rise in attacks by militants.
The president paid his respects to the "souls of the martyrs who were martyred today" in a speech broadcast live on national TV.
Members of the National Guard had surrounded a building in the village of Sidi Ali Bououn, following a tip-off that a suspicious group was hiding there, officials said.
A fierce gun battle ensued during which both security forces and militants were killed.
The president said the militants were responding "to the painful blow" on 17 October, when security forces killed at least nine suspected Islamist militants who the authorities said had carried out a deadly attack on a police patrol.
At least three other suspects were arrested in the operation in the Mount Taouyer area, about 70km (44 miles) west of Tunis.
The interior ministry blamed militants belonging to the Salafist Ansar al-Sharia group, who were linked to the murders of prominent left-wing figure Chokri Belaid in February and opposition politician Mohammed Brahmi in July.
Their deaths triggered mass protests against the government.
Ennahda condemned the killings but the opposition accused it of failing to rein in radical Islamists - charges it strongly denies.
Several other militant groups - including al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb - also operate in the region.


A 25-year-old man has appeared in court in Waterford accused of providing funds to a terrorist organisation.

Hassan Bal was arrested in the city on Thursday morning.
He is charged with attempting to provide funs to a terrorist organisation and providing funds to such an organisation.
The organisation was not named in court but its believed to be an overseas terrorist group.
The charges date from between 2 and 23 October 2015.
The court was told that when Mr Bal was charged by the Garda (Irish police) he made no reply.
It is understood he was born in the United Kingdom, but he been living in the Republic for over a decade.
Mr Bal was remanded in custody and will appear in court again next Tuesday.


A protest march has taken place through St Abbs against plans to close its lifeboat station.

Around 300 people walked from the primary school to the harbour on Saturday afternoon.
An online petition against the proposed closure of the site has gathered more than 4,000 supporters to date.
The RNLI, which wants to provide lifeboat cover from nearby Eyemouth, has said it is about having the "right assets in the right place".


Both Israel and Palestinian militants may have committed war crimes during the 2014 Israel-Gaza conflict, UN investigators have said.

In a long-awaited report, the UN team said there was evidence of "serious violations" by both sides.
Israel dismissed the investigation as "politically motivated and morally flawed", while Hamas said it wrongly equated "the victim and executioner".
The conflict lasted for 50 days between July and August, and ended in a truce.
On the Palestinian side, 2,251 people, of whom 1,462 were civilians, were killed, the report said. On the Israeli side, 67 soldiers were killed along with six civilians, it noted.
Israel says it launched the offensive on Gaza to put an end to rocket fire and remove the threat of attacks by militants tunnelling under the border.
The UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) investigation was mired in controversy from early on.
The head of the inquiry, William Schabas, quit part-way through amid Israeli allegations of bias, acknowledging he had previously done work for the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO).
Israel had refused to co-operate with the investigation, which it said had drawn its conclusions in advance.
In their 183-page report the commissioners highlight the impact on civilians on both sides.
They criticise Israel for not revising its practice of air strikes as casualties mounted, question the type of weapons it used and the quality of warnings it gave to Palestinians to evacuate their neighbourhoods.
They say that militants' indiscriminate firing of rockets and mortars at Israel seemed intended to spread terror among civilians.
The UN report, which urges cooperation with the International Criminal Court (ICC), comes at a sensitive time.
This week the Palestinians will make their first submission to the ICC, which is conducting its own preliminary investigation into alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity. This will include a chapter on the Gaza war.
The UNHRC report said that while both Israelis and Palestinians were "profoundly shaken" by the summer war, in Gaza "the scale of the devastation was unprecedented".
It said 551 Palestinian children were among the dead, with thousands more among the 11,231 Palestinians injured by Israeli action. Up to 1,600 people in Israel were also wounded by Palestinian strikes, it said.
The report said Israel carried out more than 6,000 air strikes on Gaza, many of which hit residential buildings, damaging or destroying some 18,000 dwellings and much of Gaza's infrastructure.
"There are strong indications that these attacks could be disproportionate, and therefore amount to a war crime," it said.
The report said that while the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it took extensive measures to avoid civilian casualties, it "may not have done everything feasible to avoid or limit" these.
The investigators also said Palestinian militants had fired more than 6,600 rockets or mortars at Israel, noting some armed groups had released statements indicating they intended to attack civilian targets.
The report said the use of rockets and mortars by Palestinian militants, as well as the killings of alleged collaborators, also "may amount to a war crime".
It called on Israel to "break with its recent lamentable track record in holding wrongdoers accountable", and said the Palestinian authorities had "consistently failed" to ensure that alleged perpetrators on its side were brought to justice.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the report as "biased".
"The committee that wrote this report was appointed by a committee that calls itself the Human Rights Council but in practice it does all but take care of human rights.
"It is a committee that condemns Israel more than it condemns Iran, Syria, and North Korea combined," he said.
Israel has carried out its own inquiry, which concluded its actions in Gaza were "legal" and "legitimate".
For its part, Hamas, the Islamist militant group which controls Gaza, cautiously welcomed aspects of the report.
"The report contains some positive paragraphs condemning the Israeli occupation, but it is equal between the victim and executioner," said senior Hamas official Ghazi Hamad.
The commission said it had carried out more than 280 interviews and received more than 500 written pieces of evidence during its 11-month inquiry.
It said Israel had refused to allow its team into the West Bank or Gaza, which made it difficult to carry out the investigation.


The Liberal Democrat victory in the Richmond Park by-election is a "wake up call" for UK ministers and politicians, the party's Welsh leader has said.

Liberal Democrat Sarah Olney ousted ex-Conservative MP Zac Goldsmith after campaigning on the issue of Brexit.
Welsh Lib Dem leader Mark Williams said voters were saying they did not want a so called "hard Brexit".
The Conservatives have said the result "doesn't change anything" and ministers remain committed to leaving the EU.
Mr Goldsmith resigned his seat and stood as an independent in the southwest London constituency after the government backed a third Heathrow runway.
Celebrating overturning a 23,015 Tory majority, Mr Williams said Welsh Liberal Democrats were "proud" to have worked hard on the campaign.
"This win is not just about Richmond Park, but it is an important statement from the electorate that the government cannot continue to take us down the road to a hard Brexit, which would see us far poorer outside of the single market," he said.
"That would be bad for people in Richmond Park, and it would be disastrous for people in Wales, whether in towns and cities, or in small rural communities."
He added: "Sarah's victory must be a wake up call for both the government and politicians of all parties."
The Conservative Party said in a statement: "This result doesn't change anything.
"The government remains committed to leaving the European Union and triggering Article 50 by the end of March next year.
"In addition, we will continue to take decisive action in the national interest to secure the UK's place in the world."


The widow of the man who killed 49 people at a Florida gay nightclub knew of the attack before it happened, a court in California has heard.

According to an indictment unsealed on Tuesday, Noor Salman "did knowingly aid and abet" her husband's efforts to support the Islamic State group.
She has also been accused of misleading police investigators and FBI agents on the day of the 12 June 2016 attack.
Her family say she is a victim herself and innocent of the charges.
Ms Salman is charged with providing material support to a foreign terrorist organisation and obstruction of justice.
"She knew he was going to conduct the attack," federal prosecutor Roger Handberg told the judge.
Al Salman, an uncle of the 30-year-old woman, said that his niece was "simple and innocent" and was physically and mentally abused by her husband, Omar Mateen.
He asserted that she knew nothing about her husband's plan to attack Orlando's Pulse nightclub.
Mateen was killed in a shootout with police after killing 49 people and injuring 53 others in the worst mass shooting in modern American history.
During the attack, Mateen called police to pledge support for the Islamic State group.
A lawyer for Ms Salman said in court that she had no advance knowledge of the tragedy and she should be released from jail pending trial.
She was arrested on Sunday in the San Francisco area after moving there from Florida following the attack.
As she was led back to jail, she looked sadly back at her uncle, according to reporters inside the courtroom.
Another hearing is schedule for Wednesday to discuss possibly transporting her to Florida where she may face the federal charges there.


A senior leader at one of the schools involved in the "Trojan Horse" inquiry said it would be a "great tragedy" if governors stepped down.

Earlier this month, Park View Academy in Birmingham was one of five put in special measures.
Ofsted said it had not raised pupils' awareness of the risks of extremism, but vice-principal Lee Donaghy denied that when quizzed by MPs on Tuesday.
At a meeting on Sunday, many parents called on governors to resign.
Liam Byrne, Labour MP for Birmingham Hodge Hill, said there were about 200 parents at the meeting, and that they "overwhelmingly" voted in favour of governors stepping down.
He said they had called for fresh elections to let new governors have the chance to remedy problems.
"The message was that teaching is outstanding [at Park View] but there are problems with leadership, so let's change the management team," Mr Byrne said.
Park View vice-principal Mr Donaghy was one of several people to give evidence to the Home Office Select Committee on Tuesday.
Asked by its chair Keith Vaz if the position of the governing body was "untenable", he said it "would be a great shame, a great tragedy" if it were to go.
He also told the committee that he had heard differing accounts of the parents' meeting.
In a statement, governors at the Park View Education Trust said: "The governing body that helped drive the changes - that saw the school go from special measures to outstanding - is largely the same governing body that is here today."
The governors said they agreed that improvements needed to be made, but they also said that the inspection by Ofsted had been "prejudiced".
"In that climate it is unsurprising that parents might state that the governing body should resign, but as individuals we feel that we have been part of the solution, and are not the problem," they added.


The big six energy firms are set to double their profit margins over the next year, according to estimates by the regulator, Ofgem.

A year ago, Ofgem estimated that suppliers would make an average pre-tax profit of £53 per dual fuel customer, a margin of 4%.
But in the year ahead they now expect energy firms to make £106 per customer, increasing their margin to 8%.
In response, the industry accused Ofgem of releasing inaccurate figures.
It also said they do not take tax or interest into account.
However Ofgem - which will officially publish the details on Thursday - said it was further evidence that the market was not working as well as it should.
It has already referred the industry - and the profits it makes - to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).
It has also written to the suppliers to ask why falls in wholesale prices last winter have not resulted in lower bills.
Energy UK, which represents the suppliers, said Ofgem's estimates were not accurate.
"It cannot be right to publish numbers and estimates which imply profits which turn out not to exist," said Angela Knight, Energy UK's chief executive.
"Using estimates that are as inaccurate as these, and which often result in misconceptions and misunderstandings, gets us nowhere," she added.
In response, Ofgem said: "Consumers need a clear explanation from suppliers as to why, when costs are falling, they are not seeing cuts in energy prices as we would expect in a competitive market."
"Concerns that savings weren't being passed on to customers when wholesale prices fall was one of the reasons we have proposed a referral of the energy market to the CMA for investigation," the regulator said in an emailed statement.
Ofgem said that even though profit margins are likely to increase over the next year, bills are likely to fall.
It calculates that average dual fuel bills will go down by £18, as energy efficiency measures improve.
In a separate development, Ofgem announced that electricity customers will see an average reduction of £12 a year on their bills, from April 2015.
That follows plans to limit the prices that can be charged by Britain's six distribution companies, which carry power to homes and businesses.
The curbs will affect 29 million English, Scottish and Welsh customers.
Ofgem's plans will also see the distribution companies spend £17bn to upgrade their networks.
The distribution element makes up about 8% of a typical dual-fuel bill and is the only part controlled directly by Ofgem.
"Today's announcement is all part of Ofgem's consistent drive to get the best deal for consumers, while maintaining a stable regulatory regime which attracts investment as cheaply as possible," said Dermot Nolan, the regulator's chief executive.
Five out of the six network companies - UK Power Networks, Northern Power Grid, SP Energy Networks, SSE Power Distribution and Electricity North West - were ordered to cut their prices.
Only one, Western Power Distribution, had its pricing and investment plans approved by Ofgem.
The new prices will apply for eight years, from April 2015 until 2023.
Ofgem will announce a final decision on the proposals in November after carrying out a consultation.


Aston Villa have confirmed that Norwich boss Paul Lambert is their new manager.

The 42-year-old succeeds his fellow Scot Alex McLeish, who was sacked the day after the final game of the season.
Lambert, who becomes Villa's fourth boss in less than two years, guided the Canaries to back-to-back promotions from League One before finishing 12th in last season's Premier League.
"Lambert is clearly one of the brightest young managers in the country and his work at Norwich was hugely impressive. Now his task is to revive a Villa squad that has gone backwards since the departure of Martin O'Neill two years ago."
A Villa statement said: "The board are delighted to confirm that Paul Lambert has been appointed manager."
The former Livingston, Wycombe and Colchester boss, who recently described speculation he could leave Carrow Road as "absolute nonsense", offered his resignation to Norwich on Friday but saw that rejected.
In a statement released on Saturday, Norwich said they were in discussions with Villa about compensation for Lambert and denied reports that a figure had been agreed.
"We will continue to discuss this matter privately with Aston Villa," it read.
"The next Norwich City manager will have a great squad of players, a robust and competitive budget and excellent facilities to work with - as well as the superb backing home and away of our fantastic supporters."
Chief executive David McNally had previously told the BBC that he was ready for a fight to keep Lambert at the club.
Norwich striker Grant Holt, whose future at Carrow Road is up in the air, took to Twitter upon Lambert's departure. He wrote: "Good luck to the gaffer [he] will be sadly missed at Norwich. Enjoyed every minute of his 3 years."
Lambert, who enjoyed spells at Celtic and Borussia Dortmund in his playing days, moved to Carrow Road in August 2009 when the Canaries were in the third tier.
He will now have the task of reviving Villa's fortunes after a disappointing campaign for the West Midlands club which saw them finish only two points above the relegation zone.
Villa goalkeeper Shay Given, who is preparing for Euro 2012 with the Republic of Ireland, has welcomed the appointment.
He said on Twitter: "Great appointment today for the club with Paul Lambert coming in as our new manager. I wish him well at #avfc"
Lambert is expected to be given money to spend after McLeish spent last season reducing what he described as an "astronomical" wage bill.
It is expected that he will be able to reinvest any money he generates from the sale of current Villa players.
McLeish departed Villa on 14 May after only 11 months in charge.
Owner Randy Lerner also held talks with former Manchester United striker Ole Gunnar Solskjaer but he opted to stay at Molde in Norway for family reasons.
Villa also spoke with advisors of Wigan boss Roberto Martinez, somebody who had rejected the chance to replace Gerard Houllier 12 months ago.


The father of an Iranian nuclear scientist detained since returning from the United States in 2010 says he fears for his son's safety.

Speaking about the case for the first time, Asgar Amiri told BBC Persian he has not been allowed to see or speak to his son for over a year.
Shahram Amiri is being held at a secret location, far from the family home.
Mr Amiri, who is in his 30s, surfaced in the US after disappearing on a pilgrimage to Mecca in 2009.
The case made headlines around the world when Mr Amiri appeared in a series of video recordings, apparently made in the US, a year after his disappearance.
In the first, he claimed he had been kidnapped by US and Saudi agents and put under "intense psychological pressure" to reveal sensitive information in return for asylum.
In the second, he said he was studying and living freely in Arizona, and then finally he announced that he had escaped from US custody and wanted to go home.
Mr Amiri, who some reports said had in-depth knowledge of Iran's nuclear programme, flew back to a hero's welcome in Iran in July 2010, and a tearful reunion with his wife and young son.
When the videos emerged, US officials told the BBC Mr Amiri had defected of his own free will and provided "useful information" to the United States.
Unconfirmed reports at the time suggested his family had come under pressure from the authorities in Iran to persuade him to return home.
After the initial blaze of publicity surrounding his return, Shahram Amiri disappeared from sight, and was later reported to have been given a long prison sentence.
Asgar Amiri confirmed that his son had been detained but said that until last year the family had been in telephone contact with him and were allowed to make the 500km (310 miles) journey from their home in the western Kermanshah region to visit him.
"The last time I saw my son was last September," he told the BBC.
"They called us from a restricted numberâ€¦ and told us to get ready to leave for Tehran the following day. A car with blacked-out windows picked us up. We couldn't see where we were going but they took us to some kind of military barracks."
Mr Amiri says his son was brought in wearing a blindfold and that he did not look well.
"I asked Shahram if he was kept in the same building. He said: 'No, I am being kept somewhere else'."
Mr Amiri said the visit lasted for a couple of hours, but that it was difficult to have a proper conversation because they feared the room was bugged.
Since that last meeting, Mr Amiri says he has had no news of his son.
"I have talked to all the major government offices, I have sent letters to everyone," he said. "But there has been no response."
Mr  Amiri said after his son was detained, he had received a letter from a parliamentary commission reassuring him that Shahram would be treated with "Islamic compassion".
"I showed the authorities this letter and asked them about this Islamic compassion," he said.
"What compassion? His telephone line has been cut and we haven't had a meeting with him for a year now. They told me they didn't care about this letter."
"[They] told me my son was forgiven, but they lied to me," he said.
Mr Amiri said he knew he was taking a risk speaking publicly, but was so desperate for news of his son that he felt it was the only option left.


The International Cricket Council (ICC) has appointed India's Shashank Manohar as its first independent chairman.

The 58-year-old, the sole nominee and elected unopposed, will begin his two-year term with the sport's governing body immediately.
Manohar had resigned as the President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Tuesday.
He said: "The ultimate objective is to grow our sport and engage a whole new generation of fans."
A lawyer by profession, Manohar was BCCI president from 2008-2011 and re-elected in October 2015 after the death of Jagmohan Dalmiya.
Coming soon: We're launching a new BBC Sport newsletter ahead of the Euros and Olympics, bringing all the best stories, features and video right to your inbox. You can sign up here.


Several countries are evacuating their citizens from South Sudan following days of fighting that saw hundreds of people killed.

Germany, the UK, Italy, Japan, India and Uganda have already started taking their citizens out of the country.
A ceasefire between forces loyal to President Salva Kiir and Vice-President Riek Machar is holding for a second day in the capital, Juba.
Mr Machar and his troops have also left Juba "to avoid further confrontation".
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The evacuations are being carried out by military and chartered planes, as commercial flights have not yet resumed.
However, Kenyan Foreign Minister Amina Mohammed has told the BBC that Kenyan nationals would not be evacuated, as the ceasefire in South Sudan was holding.
The US embassy in Juba said it was organising flights to evacuate non-essential staff and all US citizens wishing to leave.
President Barack Obama later announced 47 troops were being sent to protect the US embassy and its staff.
He added that 130 more personnel were being sent to Djibouti to stand ready for deployment if necessary.
Germany's foreign ministry said its air force was evacuating other European nationals, as well as its own citizens.
During the fighting, Mr Machar's base in Juba was overrun.
Mr Machar's spokesman James Gatdet Dak told the BBC that the vice-president was now near the capital but refused to be more specific.
He called for an international buffer force to be deployed to avoid "further confrontation" and ensure that the ceasefire holds.
July 2011 - South Sudan becomes an independent country after more than 20 years of guerrilla warfare, which claimed the lives of at least 1.5 million people and displaced more than four million.
December 2013 - Civil war breaks out after President Salva Kiir sacks the cabinet and accuses Vice-President Riek Machar of planning a coup. The war is fought broadly between the country's biggest ethnic groups - the Dinka, led by Mr Kiir, and the Nuer, under Mr Machar.
More than 2.2 million people are displaced by the fighting. Famine puts the lives of thousands at risk. Tens of thousands of people are reported killed, and Mr Machar flees the country.
August 2015 - President Kiir signs a peace deal with rebels after a threat of sanctions from the UN.
April 2016 - Mr Machar returns to South Sudan to take up his job as first vice-president in a new unity government led by President Kiir.


Energy companies have no excuse for increasing standard tariffs, the energy regulator Ofgem has said.

It believes the large energy suppliers should have protected themselves from recent rises in wholesale prices by buying gas and electricity in advance.
The warning comes despite new data which shows that supplier's costs were considerably higher at the start of this year compared to a year earlier.
However, those costs are now beginning to fall.
"It's not obvious that there should be significant price increases across the market", said Dermot Nolan, Ofgem's chief executive.
He was speaking as the regulator published a new measure of the cost pressures energy firms can expect in the coming year.
The Supplier Cost Index collates the impact of wholesale prices, network charges and the impact of levies linked to government policies.
The index shows that costs were about 15% higher in January 2017 compared to a year earlier.
Ofgem said that was largely down to rises in wholesale gas and electricity prices.
But Mr Nolan insisted that as a result of how the main suppliers buy gas and electricity - often up to 18 months in advance - the actual impact upon their costs should be much lower.
While a number of suppliers had increased prices of fixed tariffs in recent months, he said that most large suppliers had not increased standard variable tariffs.
"We don't see an obvious reason for price increases", he said.
Ofgem says that even if recent cost increases are sustained that suppliers should do all they can to protect customers from price increases by keeping their own internal costs down.
It warned that firms that did not keep prices down risked losing customers to rivals.
About a million customers switched from large suppliers to smaller rivals between June 2015 and June 2016.
Several of the big suppliers have announced plans to freeze standard energy tariffs this winter.
EDF cut gas prices by 5.2% on 6 January but will raise electricity prices by 8.4% on 1 March.
Mr Nolan said that consumers were more likely to see upward pressure on electricity prices rather than gas.
Ofgem's analysis suggests that of the 15% rise in dual fuel cost index compared to a year ago, electricity accounted for 6% of the rise and gas by 6.6%.
Government levies on electricity bills also accounted for 2.9% of that overall rise.
Consumer group Which? said the Ofgem cost index was "a step in the right direction".
Which? campaigns director Vickie Sheriff said the index would "introduce more transparency and help to understand what factors [have an] impact [on] people's bills."
"We expect to see Ofgem use this index to monitor suppliers and hold them to account to help protect customers from paying more than they need to for their energy," she added.


Ten-man Albania were denied a historic point on their European Championship debut as Switzerland ran out winners in a hotly contested game in Lens.

Media playback is not supported on this device
Fabian Schar's header proved crucial after goalkeeper Etrit Berisha flapped at Xherdan Shaqiri's corner.
Despite Swiss control of play, Armando Sadiku wasted a great chance to make it 1-1 before Albania captain Lorik Cana received a second yellow for handball.
After poor Swiss finishing, Shkelzen Gashi almost levelled late on.
The substitute was put clean through with three minutes left but Swiss goalkeeper Yann Sommer made a crucial save, his second after denying Sadiku in the first half, to leave Albanian fans aghast.
Switzerland's first opening-game win in four attempts at a European Championship puts them second in Group A behind hosts France, who beat Romania 2-1 on Friday.
But it should put them close to reaching the knockout stages for the first time after finishing bottom of their group at tournaments in 1996, 2004 and 2008.
Swiss midfielder Granit Xhaka and elder sibling Taulant became the first brothers to play on opposing sides at the European Championship, highlighting the homogeneous nature of this fixture, played before a passionate crowd.
Six of Switzerland's 23-man squad have family links to Albania or Kosovo, while 10 of the Albanian squad were born or raised in Switzerland.
The Xhaka brothers were both born in Switzerland, after their parents fled Kosovo, and came through the youth system at Basel. But Taulant failed to make it to the senior Swiss side after playing for the Under-21s, and switched allegiance to Albania.
Granit, who recently joined Arsenal for a reported £35m from Borussia Monchengladbach, showed "promise" in this win, according to BBC pundit Danny Murphy.
The midfielder set up three decent chances and had the most touches of anyone on the pitch, with Murphy adding: "His passing looks very nice and he has a determination to get back and retrieve the ball so there is a nice balance to his game."
Taulant also created one good opening after a smart one-two with Odise Roshi but shot over and he was replaced after 63 minutes, much to his distaste as he threw a water bottle at the dugout.
Despite the Albanian supporters' barracking of Shaqiri, who is one of the Swiss players born in Kosovo, Vladimir Petkovic's side were quick to show their greater experience, and had already made inroads down the flanks before the opener.
Albania responded well, but when Sadiku's close-range effort was saved by Sommer, it proved costly - as former Sunderland player Cana was then sent off six minutes later.
Cana could have had little complaint with BBC pundit Thierry Henry suggesting he was lucky not to receive a straight red card.
After allowing Haris Seferovic to run the wrong side of him, Cana slipped on the edge of the penalty area and then used his hand to deny the Swiss striker.
The fact that Switzerland did not capitalise on their numerical advantage was mostly down to Seferovic, who wasted several good opportunities.
And he was fortunate that Sommer was in good form to deny Gashi late on, with the Albanian manager Giovanni de Biasi furious at another missed one-on-one chance.
Switzerland coach Vladimir Petkovic: "I was not afraid of losing our lead, but we should have scored more. We will be mentally stronger after coming through this.
"The first 20 minutes were very important and very good. After that, we played backwards too much and allowed them back into the game."
Albania coach Giovanni De Biasi: "The key moments of the game were the goal from Fabian Schar, the dismissal of Lorik Cana and our three misses from close range that could have changed the game.
"The red card really changed the balance of the game. We had to change our approach."
Switzerland face Romania on Wednesday 15 June at Parc des Prince in Paris as they aim to seal their passage to the second round while Albania go in search of their first European Championship point against hosts France at Stade Velodrome on the same day.
Match ends, Albania 0, Switzerland 1.
Second Half ends, Albania 0, Switzerland 1.
Foul by Ricardo Rodríguez (Switzerland).
Ergys Kace (Albania) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Mergim Mavraj (Albania) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Breel Embolo (Switzerland) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Mergim Mavraj (Albania).
Foul by Gelson Fernandes (Switzerland).
Ergys Kace (Albania) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Burim Kukeli (Albania) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Breel Embolo (Switzerland) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Burim Kukeli (Albania).
Substitution, Switzerland. Gelson Fernandes replaces Xherdan Shaqiri.
Corner,  Albania. Conceded by Yann Sommer.
Attempt saved. Shkelzen Gashi (Albania) left footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the top centre of the goal. Assisted by Amir Abrashi with a through ball.
Attempt blocked. Ergys Kace (Albania) header from the centre of the box is blocked.
Granit Xhaka (Switzerland) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Foul by Shkelzen Gashi (Albania).
Corner,  Switzerland. Conceded by Mergim Mavraj.
Attempt blocked. Fabian Frei (Switzerland) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
Offside, Albania. Ansi Agolli tries a through ball, but Shkelzen Gashi is caught offside.
Foul by Xherdan Shaqiri (Switzerland).
Amir Abrashi (Albania) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Substitution, Albania. Shkelzen Gashi replaces Armando Sadiku.
Attempt saved. Xherdan Shaqiri (Switzerland) left footed shot from the right side of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Fabian Schär.
Foul by Fabian Frei (Switzerland).
Amir Abrashi (Albania) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Fabian Frei (Switzerland) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Ermir Lenjani (Albania).
Attempt missed. Armando Sadiku (Albania) right footed shot from a difficult angle on the right is close, but misses to the right. Assisted by Elseid Hysaj with a through ball.
Substitution, Switzerland. Fabian Frei replaces Blerim Dzemaili.
Attempt missed. Breel Embolo (Switzerland) right footed shot from the left side of the box is high and wide to the right. Assisted by Haris Seferovic.
Substitution, Albania. Sokol Cikalleshi replaces Odise Roshi.
Foul by Haris Seferovic (Switzerland).
Mergim Mavraj (Albania) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Corner,  Albania. Conceded by Fabian Schär.
Valon Behrami (Switzerland) is shown the yellow card.
Attempt saved. Haris Seferovic (Switzerland) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Breel Embolo with a through ball.
Attempt saved. Xherdan Shaqiri (Switzerland) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal.
Ergys Kace (Albania) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.


Real Madrid extended their lead at the top of La Liga to five points with a narrow win against Athletic Bilbao at the San Mames Stadium.

Second-placed Barcelona, who have played the same amount of games as Real, host Valencia on Sunday.
Real, who are chasing their first league title since 2011-12, went ahead through Karim Benzema on 25 minutes.
Veteran striker Aritz Aduriz equalised on 65 minutes, before Casemiro scored the winner three minutes later.
Athletic went into the game with the second-best home record in the league behind Real, and boasting just one defeat all season at the San Mames, which came against Barcelona in August.
Real weathered some early pressure to take the lead as Cristiano Ronaldo squared for Benzema and the France striker placed a right-footed shot past goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga.
The first half was a heated affair with Casemiro, Dani Carvajal and Aduriz all booked.
Athletic almost equalised immediately after the break, as Aduriz sent a header towards the far post and Keylor Navas and Sergio Ramos got in each other's way, before the defender managed to clear.
The impressive Inaki Williams was Athletic's best attacker and gave Marcelo a torrid time on the left. The 22-year-old, who has been linked with Liverpool, forced Navas into a good save from point-blank range on 64 minutes.
Two minutes later, the equaliser came as Raul Garcia headed a cross across the box to 36-year-old Spanish international Aduriz who placed his header past Navas from close range.
The lead did not last though, as Real quickly responded from a corner.
Toni Kroos' corner was flicked on by Ronaldo to Casemiro at the far post, who controlled with his chest and then shot from close range to score.
Wales forward Gareth Bale, who returned after a two-match ban, was subdued, with a powerful left-footed shot on 27 minutes his best effort in the match.
Elsewhere, Las Palmas coach Quique Setien announced on Saturday he will leave the Canary Island club at the end of the season.
Setien, 58, was hired in October 2015 and has led Las Palmas to safety in each of the past two seasons.
The announcement came a day after they beat Villarreal 1-0, thanks to a Kevin-Prince Boateng strike.
Match ends, Athletic Club 1, Real Madrid 2.
Second Half ends, Athletic Club 1, Real Madrid 2.
Keylor Navas (Real Madrid) is shown the yellow card.
Offside, Athletic Club. Muniain tries a through ball, but Iñaki Williams is caught offside.
Markel Susaeta (Athletic Club) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Foul by Casemiro (Real Madrid).
Foul by Álvaro Morata (Real Madrid).
Aymeric Laporte (Athletic Club) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Attempt saved. De Marcos (Athletic Club) header from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Balenziaga with a cross.
Substitution, Athletic Club. Markel Susaeta replaces Raul García.
Substitution, Real Madrid. Álvaro Morata replaces Karim Benzema.
Casemiro (Real Madrid) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Dangerous play by Yeray Álvarez (Athletic Club).
Casemiro (Real Madrid) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Raul García (Athletic Club).
Foul by Lucas Vázquez (Real Madrid).
Balenziaga (Athletic Club) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Gareth Bale (Real Madrid) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Aduriz (Athletic Club).
Substitution, Athletic Club. Mikel Rico replaces Beñat Etxebarria.
Substitution, Real Madrid. Isco replaces Cristiano Ronaldo.
Casemiro (Real Madrid) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Balenziaga (Athletic Club).
Foul by Karim Benzema (Real Madrid).
De Marcos (Athletic Club) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Corner,  Athletic Club. Conceded by Keylor Navas.
Attempt saved. Iñaki Williams (Athletic Club) right footed shot from the right side of the box is saved in the bottom right corner. Assisted by De Marcos.
Daniel Carvajal (Real Madrid) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Muniain (Athletic Club).
Attempt missed. Marcelo (Real Madrid) left footed shot from the centre of the box is too high.
Toni Kroos (Real Madrid) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Foul by Toni Kroos (Real Madrid).
Aymeric Laporte (Athletic Club) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Aduriz (Athletic Club).
Goal!  Athletic Club 1, Real Madrid 2. Casemiro (Real Madrid) right footed shot from very close range to the centre of the goal. Assisted by Cristiano Ronaldo following a corner.
Attempt missed. Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid) header from very close range misses to the left. Assisted by Toni Kroos with a cross following a corner.
Corner,  Real Madrid. Conceded by Yeray Álvarez.
Attempt blocked. Marcelo (Real Madrid) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Karim Benzema.
Offside, Real Madrid. Karim Benzema tries a through ball, but Cristiano Ronaldo is caught offside.


Almost 100 female workers have filed sex discrimination and equal pay claims against the Scottish Prison Service.

The move follows a decision to award additional payments to prison officers but not to other staff.
The majority of officers are men and the Public and Commercial Services union (PCS) said that not extending the payments amounted to discrimination.
The PCS said "Our women members' jobs have been rated independently as equal, so pay should be equally rewarded."
Prison officers will receive an extra £1,000 this year and another £1,000 next year on top of annual pay awards.
The payments were sanctioned by senior Scottish government ministers, including finance secretary Derek Mackay and justice secretary Michael Matheson.
The move will cost the prison service £3.7m in each year.
Similar payments were made in 2015 at a cost of £7.4m.
The women who are claiming discrimination work for the prison service in areas including administration, psychological services, HR, payroll, IT and procurement.
PCS national officer for Scotland, Lynn Henderson, said "These payments have been made despite there being no change in the role of the prison officers.
"It is scandalous that the Scottish government has knowingly sanctioned discriminatory treatment of hard-working women workers in our prisons.
"It flies in the face of their own Fair Work Principles which include the need for equality."


Kallum Higginbotham missed two late penalties for 10-man Dunfermline Athletic who drew 1-1 with Ayr United.

Higginbotham wasted two chances from the spot in the 83rd and 85th minutes after Paul McMullan then Higginbotham himself were felled in the box.
Nicky Clark had fired the Pars ahead on the half-hour mark.
But Lewis Martin was shown a second yellow when he fouled Scott McKenna in the home box, Alan Forest levelling from the spot before the late drama.
Match ends, Dunfermline Athletic 1, Ayr United 1.
Second Half ends, Dunfermline Athletic 1, Ayr United 1.
Attempt missed. Paul McMullan (Dunfermline Athletic) left footed shot from the centre of the box is too high.
Corner,  Dunfermline Athletic. Conceded by Patrick Boyle.
Attempt missed. Michael Moffat (Dunfermline Athletic) right footed shot from outside the box misses to the left.
Corner,  Ayr United. Conceded by Conner Duthie.
Corner,  Dunfermline Athletic. Conceded by Greg Fleming.
Penalty saved! Kallum Higginbotham (Dunfermline Athletic) fails to capitalise on this great opportunity,  right footed shot saved  in the top centre of the goal.
Patrick Boyle (Ayr United) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Penalty Dunfermline Athletic. Kallum Higginbotham draws a foul in the penalty area.
Penalty saved! Kallum Higginbotham (Dunfermline Athletic) fails to capitalise on this great opportunity,  right footed shot saved  in the bottom right corner.
Penalty Dunfermline Athletic. Paul McMullan draws a foul in the penalty area.
Penalty conceded by Patrick Boyle (Ayr United) after a foul in the penalty area.
Penalty conceded by Scott McKenna (Ayr United) after a foul in the penalty area.
Corner,  Dunfermline Athletic. Conceded by Conrad Balatoni.
Ross Docherty (Ayr United) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Hand ball by Ross Docherty (Ayr United).
Attempt saved. Callum Fordyce (Dunfermline Athletic) header from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal.
John Herron (Dunfermline Athletic) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Robbie Crawford (Ayr United).
John Herron (Dunfermline Athletic) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Foul by Alan Forrest (Ayr United).
Substitution, Ayr United. Andy O'Connell replaces Kevin Nisbet.
Substitution, Dunfermline Athletic. Michael Moffat replaces Nicky Clark.
Lee Ashcroft (Dunfermline Athletic) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Corner,  Ayr United. Conceded by Jason Talbot.
Attempt saved. Nicky Clark (Dunfermline Athletic) right footed shot from the right side of the box is saved in the centre of the goal.
Attempt saved. Paul McMullan (Dunfermline Athletic) right footed shot from the right side of the box is saved in the top centre of the goal.
Attempt missed. Ross Docherty (Ayr United) right footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the left.
Attempt saved. Gary Harkins (Ayr United) left footed shot from the left side of the box is saved in the centre of the goal.
Kallum Higginbotham (Dunfermline Athletic) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Foul by Kallum Higginbotham (Dunfermline Athletic).
Ross Docherty (Ayr United) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Kallum Higginbotham (Dunfermline Athletic) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Gary Harkins (Ayr United).
Attempt missed. Gary Harkins (Ayr United) right footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the right.
Attempt missed. Nicky Clark (Dunfermline Athletic) right footed shot from the centre of the box is just a bit too high.
Alan Forrest (Ayr United) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
John Herron (Dunfermline Athletic) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Alan Forrest (Ayr United).


The chief executive and chairman of the board of United Airlines, Jeff Smisek, has quit amid a corruption investigation.

Two other executives of the US's third largest airline also resigned.
According to US media reports, federal authorities are investigating whether Mr Smisek sanctioned a money-losing flight to benefit the head of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
United said that it was cooperating with investigators.
At the time the route operated from Newark, New Jersey, to Columbia, South Carolina, United Airlines was lobbying for improvements at Newark Liberty International Airport, which the Port Authority owns.
Former Port Authority Chairman David Samson owned a vacation home in Columbia at the time.
United launched the twice weekly, direct flight route shortly after Mr Samson was appointed and cancelled it after Mr Samson left the Port Authority.
Oscar Munoz, the chief operating officer CSX Corp, was named Mr Smisek's replacement as CEO.


Deputy Labour leader Harriet Harman has accused David Cameron of "twisting her words" to claim that the opposition plans to raise taxes on middle earners.

The PM had quoted her as saying that "people on middle incomes should contribute more through their taxes".
At his weekly questions, he said this revealed that Labour policy was "now to put up taxes on middle-income people".
Ms Harman had meant that middle earners should continue to pay more in taxes than lower earners, Labour said.
Mr Cameron was being "pathetic" and indulging in "low politics", Ms Harman told the BBC.
She added that she had not been "flying kites or floating policy ideas", but simply defending the current tax system under which some people pay a 20% rate of tax and others pay a 40% rate.
During a phone-in on LBC radio on Monday, Ms Harman had been asked whether it was fair that wealthier people, who are more likely to pay to use private schools and healthcare services, should contribute more in taxes than lower earners who benefit more from state-funded public services.
She replied by telling the questioner that good public services were "not just for working class people but for middle class people as well".
She added: "I think that actually the idea that there are some things that help people on low incomes and others that help people on middle incomes, yes - I think people on middle incomes should contribute more through their taxes, but actually they need those public services like the transport system."
Mr Cameron told MPs: "Of course we want living standards to recover faster and there are two things you need to do to make that happen - first of all, get more into work and we are getting people into work, and secondly, cut spending so you can cut taxes, which is exactly what we are doing.
"Yesterday Labour announced in an important announcement that it is now their policy to put up taxes on middle-income people."
He said of Mr Miliband: "Perhaps he can get to his feet and tell us which taxes on which people?"
Mr Miliband replied: "I ask the questions and he fails to answer them. The reality is that he has the worst record on living standards of any prime minister in history."
But the PM continued: "That is their policy. The squeezed middle will be squeezed more. Now you need to tell us which people are going to pay which taxes because on this side of the House, we have cut council tax, we have cut petrol duty, we have cut the jobs tax, we have increased the married couples allowance.
"Labour would put a tax on your job, on your mortgage, on your home and on your pension."
A Labour spokesman added: "David Cameron can continue to lie about our position but we will continue to tell the truth about the economy."
Ms Harman later wrote to the prime minister saying it was "utterly clear" that her comments had not been a call for higher taxes.
Speaking on LBC radio, Conservative Party co-chairman Grant Shapps said he would be replying to Ms Harman urging her to "come clean" about Labour's tax plans and to rule out any tax rises on middle earners.


A retired soldier stabbed his wife with a serrated bread knife before fatally poisoning them both with carbon monoxide, an inquest has heard.

Graham McCartney stabbed his estranged wife Jane in her chest and arm at their home in Dalwood, Devon, in May 2015, the inquest was told.
He also connected the exhaust pipe of his MG car to the window of their rural bungalow.
Police discovered their bodies in the locked sitting room.
More on the inquest, and other Devon and Cornwall news
She had been wrapped in a duvet and the phones had been put out of her reach.
Assistant Devon coroner Luisa Nicholson concluded that Mrs McCartney was unlawfully killed by her husband who then killed himself.
She said "It is a double tragedy and heartbreaking and utterly incomprehensible, we will never know the full story that day."
Pathologist Dr Amanda Jeffery told the inquest that Mrs McCartney, 59, died from "the combined effect of the stab wounds to her chest and right arm and the carbon monoxide poisoning".
She concluded that Mr McCartney, 63, died from inhaling the fumes, and ruled out a suicide pact.
The inquest in Exeter heard evidence that Mrs McCartney, an accountant with Exeter University, was alive for 30 minutes after being stabbed.
Mr McCartney's son told the inquest his father had felt humiliated about the collapse of his marriage and hated the fact that people would know about the break-up.
Mr McCartney left his son a note reading, "I just cannot stand the humiliation anymore. Sorry, Dad."


Nick Clegg has stepped down as leader of the Liberal Democrats and called a leadership election.

But with the party reduced from 57 MPs to just eight - and the loss of ex-ministers such as Vince Cable, Norman Baker, David Laws and Danny Alexander - here are the remaining MPs:
Former Lib Dem president Tim Farron has retained his Westmorland and Lonsdale seat. He has held the seat since 2005, when he ended a 95-year rule by the Conservative Party. Though on Friday he saw his majority slide by 3,315 to 8,949, from 60% to 51.5%.
At the Lib Dem conference in March, Mr Farron - seen by some as a frontrunner to succeed Nick Clegg - was quoted in the Mail on Sunday suggesting the party's brand would be tainted for a generation by governing with the Conservatives.
Asked if he would stand to replace Mr Clegg if he was no longer leader, Mr Farron said it would be "foolish and disloyal" to consider a post-election leadership bid.
Mr Farron was elected as the party's president in November 2010, winning 53% of the vote and taking over the role in January 2011. He was re-elected unopposed in autumn 2012, until handing over the role at the beginning of January 2015 to Baroness Brinton.
A long-standing Norwich City supporter, Norman Lamb served first as chief parliamentary adviser to Nick Clegg following the 2010 general election and then as a junior minister at the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills, before he was promoted to minister of state for care and support at the Department of Health.
In January 2015, he was appointed to the Lib Dem general election cabinet as the party's health spokesperson.
On Friday, he told BBC Radio Norfolk: "I will think carefully about how I can best serve my party".
Mr Lamb has served as Norfolk North's MP since 2001. The son of Hubert Lamb, a leading climatologist, he studied law at Leicester University and, after working as a parliamentary assistant for a Labour MP, built a career as a litigation solicitor, ultimately specialising in employment law.
He was partner of Steeles Solicitors and is the author of 'Remedies in the Employment Tribunal'.
Greg Mulholland held his Leeds North West seat, where he has been MP since 2005.
Shortly before Mr Clegg's resignation as party leader on Friday, Mr Mulholland ruled himself out of the leadership contest. When asked, he told ITV News: "No. Very easy answer...My priority is rebuilding [the party] locally."
Following Mr Clegg's resignation later on Friday, Mr Mulholland said on Twitter: "The 2010 failure to ensure no Liberal Democrat MP voted against a rise in [student tuition] fees was catastrophic. Now we need a leader who voted against."
Mr Mulholland was one of the Lib Dems who voted against a fee rise (see the full list of how the Lib Dems voted here).
He continued on Twitter: "In 2010 the party made the right decision to go into Coalition. Then the leadership made 3 fatal errors 1. fees 2. NHS Act 3. bedroom tax.
"It really is time for a realignment of British politics & a voting system that does not grotesquely distort & disenfranchise."
MP for Southport since 2005, John Pugh held on to his seat, despite losing 8,055 votes.
Winning with a reduced majority, he said on Friday that it was time for the party to reflect on how it moves forward after devastating losses across the country.
Mr Pugh has previously served as shadow spokesman for transport and health, and, after the election of Nick Clegg as party leader, he worked with Vince Cable as shadow Treasury spokesman.
With the formation of the coalition in 2010 he was appointed as co-chairman of the Liberal Democrat parliamentary committee for health and social care, a position he relinquished at the end of 2013 to focus on producing a report examining the social and economic issues facing the north.
Born in Liverpool, he graduated in philosophy from Durham University before entering the teaching profession - where he taught in the state and independent sectors and was head of philosophy and religious studies at Merchant Taylors' School, Crosby, prior to his election.
Mark Williams is the only Liberal Democrats MP in Wales, after successfully holding on to his seat in the Ceredigion constituency.
Mr Williams was appointed to the Welsh Affairs Select Committee in 2005 before becoming the Liberal Democrat spokesman for Wales, and at varying times has been spokesman on schools and higher education.
Born in Hertford and educated at Aberystwyth University, Mr Williams worked for the Liberal MP for Ceredigion, Geraint Howells, before becoming a research assistant to Liberal Peers in the House of Lords. He later worked as a primary school teacher and deputy head teacher before being elected to parliament in 2005.
Alistair Carmichael was the only Lib Dem MP to survive the SNP landslide in Scotland - 10 others lost their seats.
Though his  Orkney and Shetland seat was considered to be one of the party's safest, his majority was cut from 9,928 to 817, with a 23.9% swing to the SNP.
The safety of his seat has previously led to speculation that the former Scottish secretary could be a potential successor to Mr Clegg.
However, in February he appeared to rule out any bid for the leadership. When asked whether he would like to lead the party, Mr Carmichael said: "No. There's no vacancy and I have the constituency that is furthest away from London.
"I have got a family that still includes school age children. And the commitment that it takes to be party leader in modern politics is enormous.
At the party conference in March, he said liberalism was needed "more than ever".
He told the conference: "In a world where nationalism and populism can seem like attractive options - a world where the power of the state and corporate interests can seem to overwhelm the rights and freedoms of the individual - in a world like that liberalism is needed more than ever before and more than ever before our country needs Liberal Democrat influence in government.
Liberal Democrat Tom Brake was the only party member to hold his seat in London, in Carshalton and Wallington, beating Tory rival Matthew Maxwell Scott by 1,500 votes.
In every other London seat, the capital is now in the hands of either Labour or the Conservatives.
Mr Brake has held his seat since 1997, when he overturned a Tory majority. In September 2012, he was appointed to his first ministerial position as deputy leader of the House of Commons, having been appointed a privy counsellor in June 2011.
Following Mr Clegg's resignation, Mr Brake told BBC London: "I don't think he should be the fall guy". He confirmed on Sunday Politics he would not be contesting the leadership.


A man has been given life imprisonment for murdering a man in a mass street brawl.

Michael Hoolickin, 27, suffered multiple stab wounds in a fracas between a group of men and women on 14 October in Middleton, Greater Manchester.
Timothy Deakin, 21, of Lever Street, Heywood, denied murder but was found guilty by a jury at Bolton Crown Court.
He was ordered to serve a minimum of 27 years.
Deakin was also sentenced to three years for wounding and possession of an offensive weapon in a public place, which he had also denied, and 12 months for assault, which are to be served concurrently.
The 21-year-old admitted the assault charge.
After sentencing Mr Hoolickin's family said: "Michael was much loved by all his family and friends and had his whole life ahead of him."
The family said he was taken away in "completely unnecessary circumstances".
"We cannot express how devastated we are that his life has been stolen from him.
"Today his killer has been sentenced and justice has been served."
His family added: "We can try to repair our heartache although no matter how long the sentence is, it will not bring Michael back or make our loss any easier."


A Borders councillor has said she believes people are being short-changed by a superfast broadband rollout.

Catriona Bhatia claimed that despite major investment the service was failing to live up to its name.
She said there were big differences in speeds being received by homes and businesses covered by the provision.
BT said it had invested heavily to ensure the service reached premises which would not have received it on a commercial basis.
Ms Bhatia was speaking after a report highlighted the progress made and challenges faced in improving broadband access in the south of Scotland.
Scottish Borders Council has invested Â£8.4m in the rollout of services across the region.
You shouldnt be getting 2MB when somebody down the road is getting 20MB and youre paying exactly the same amount of money.
However, she said the results were variable.
"If you pay for your electricity, you get 240 volts delivered to your house - it should be the same for your broadband speeds," she said.
"You shouldn't be getting 2MB when somebody down the road is getting 20MB and you're paying exactly the same amount of money."
Ms Bhatia said she felt the local authority was not getting the provision it had paid for.
"We have also invested a large sum of public money in this to get a contract that would deliver 94% superfast broadband across the Borders," she added.
"Not everybody within that 94% is getting the same level of service - I think it is actually a bit of a scandal and some further investigation needs to be done."
A BT spokeswoman said it had invested Â£126m in the Digital Scotland rollout on top of its commercial investment.
She said that the four-year programme was only just past its halfway point and had already benefited more than 23,600 premises in the Borders and more than 41,000 in Dumfries and Galloway.
"Every phone line is different and many factors can affect the speed of broadband, ranging from the length of the line from the fibre-enabled street cabinet, to faulty routers and existing wiring or equipment in people's homes," she said.
"When someone decides to move to a fibre-based service, their service provider should give an indication of what speed they can expect.
"If their service doesn't meet expectation, this should be reported to the service provider in the first instance, so they can investigate the issue."
She added that work was ongoing to improve the service to some homes which might have slower speeds at the moment.
"Phone lines globally are subject to the laws of physics which mean the signal does deteriorate over long distances and we've always been very open about that," she said.
"BT is working on technology to deliver faster broadband speeds over long copper lines at the moment."
Do you live in the Borders or Dumfries and Galloway and have or want to get superfast broadband? What is your experience of the service? Is the area being short-changed or is it seeing major benefits from significant investment? Email your thoughts to selkirk.news@bbc.co.uk


The Belfast businessman Gareth Graham has settled his legal action with the Cerberus investment fund.

The fund appointed administrators to some of his firms in 2015 and he has been strongly contesting its right to do so.
In a statement, he said the legal proceedings "have been resolved to the full satisfaction of all parties".
His statement has been published as an advertisement in several newspapers.
He adds that he regrets any "inadvertent harm" which has been caused to the Cerberus brand as a result of the litigation.
Cerberus gained control of Mr Graham's loans when it bought the Northern Ireland portfolio of Nama in 2014, in a deal known as Project Eagle.
The fund's conduct was criticised during court hearings and Mr Graham also gave evidence to a Stormont committee which was examining Project Eagle.
He told the committee that Cerberus had behaved in a way which was "ruthless, unjust and unreasonable".
His statement said that as "certain matters have become clearer" it is now no longer possible to maintain his complaints about Cerberus in relation to Project Eagle.
It adds that he also wants to distance himself from "grave and serious allegations" made against Cerberus regarding payments to "fixers".
He said he is "content" that the fund is not and was not involved in any illegal conduct.
He has agreed to meet Cerberus' legal costs, which are likely to be substantial.
It is understood that the settlement was reached after a period of mediation.
It will now allow Mr Graham to regain control of his properties though it is not clear what the precise financial arrangements will be.
Cerberus borrowers have typically arranged finance from another lender to settle their debts or consensually sold off properties to make repayments.
Mr Graham said he looks forward to returning to his business interests and "putting this affair behind me".
A spokesperson for Cerberus said: "Mr Graham's comments are self-explanatory and consistent with everything Cerberus Capital Management has said on these matters to date."
In the past the firm has said that it had been "fair and consistent" in its approach to borrowers.
It is understood the fund considers Mr Graham's statement to be highly significant as he has been its most active critic in relation to Project Eagle.


Government forces in the Central African Republic (CAR) say they have halted an advance by insurgents towards the capital, Bangui.

Reports say an attack helicopter opened fire on the column of Seleka rebels as it approached the city.
Rebels earlier forced their way through a checkpoint 75km (45 miles) north.
The checkpoint, in Damara, was manned by a regional force which had designated it as a red line the rebels should not cross.
But the atmosphere in Bangui is very tense and all businesses, offices and schools have shut, a journalist in the capital told the BBC.
Seleka began their offensive this week, accusing President Francois Bozize of failing to honour a peace deal signed in January - a charge he denies.
The rebels joined a power-sharing government in January, in talks brokered by regional leaders, to end the rebellion they launched last year.
Journalist Junior Lingange in Bangui told the BBC's Focus on Africa programme that the rebels said 2,000 of their fighters had taken the checkpoint in Damara, where some 500 troops from the regional Fomac force were based.
Damara is about an hour's drive from the capital, he says. In Bangui, government troops were driving around the capital, where some 400 South Africa troops are also based, said the journalist.
"The rebel column, which was headed south, was stopped by an aircraft... an attack helicopter," a senior regional military source told Reuters news agency.
"The helicopter opened fire on the column, forcing it to disperse ... The rebels have not reached Bangui."
CAR has been hit by a series of rebellions since independence from France in 1960.
It is one of the poorest countries in Africa, despite its considerable mineral resources.


US soldier Chelsea Manning is celebrating her freedom after being released from military prison.

Manning took to Twitter after her release, photographing her "first steps of freedom" in civilian clothes.
In a brief statement, she said she was focused on the future, which "is far more important than the past".
She served seven years of a 35-year sentence for leaking hundreds of thousands of diplomatic cables and military files to Wikileaks.
Most of her sentence was commuted by then-US President Barack Obama in January.
In a statement issued through the American Civil Liberties Union, which provided her with legal support, Manning said: "After another anxious four months of waiting, the day has finally arrived. I am looking forward to so much!"
She added: "Whatever is ahead of me is far more important than the past. I'm figuring things out right now - which is exciting, awkward, fun, and all new for me."
A US Army spokesperson confirmed that she left Fort Leavenworth military prison in Kansas in the early morning.
The 29-year-old soldier was born Bradley Manning.
A day after she was sentenced to 35 years in prison in 2013, Manning said she had felt female since childhood and wanted to live as a woman called Chelsea.
"For the first time, I can see a future for myself as Chelsea," she said in a statement last week ahead of her release. "I can imagine surviving and living as the person who I am and can finally be in the outside world."
Speaking to the BBC, Manning's friend, the journalist Glenn Greenwald - who was involved in the publication of leaks from Edward Snowden - said she faced a difficult life outside prison.
"She's going to live in a country where the top officials have expressed extreme denunciations of her, condemnations of her, who regard her as a traitor," he said.
"But the reality is that if you look back at what it is that she achieved, she revealed unquestionable war crimes, her disclosures led to reforms around the world."
President Obama's decision to commute her sentence drew criticism from leading Republicans, including Senator John McCain, who called it a "a grave mistake".
Manning was convicted of 20 charges in connection with the leaks, including espionage. She was acquitted of the most serious charge, aiding the enemy.
She defended the leaking by saying she had wanted to spark a public debate in the US about the role of the military and US foreign policy, but later apologised for "hurting the US", saying she had mistakenly believed she could "change the world for the better".
In January she tweeted that she wanted to move to Maryland after being released, a state where she previously lived.
On Monday she tweeted: "Two more days until the freedom of civilian life ^_^ Now hunting for private #healthcare like millions of Americans =P".
Manning will remain on active army duty while her military court conviction remains under appeal. She will have healthcare benefits but will be unpaid, the army says.
An online campaign set up by her attorney has raised $150,000 (Â£115,725) to pay for her living expenses for the first year after her release.
If the appeal is denied, she could be dishonourably discharged from the army, US media say.
Manning was deployed in Iraq as an intelligence analyst when she leaked hundreds of thousands of files to Wikileaks.
Included in those files was video footage of an Apache helicopter killing 12 civilians in Baghdad in 2007, and many sensitive messages between US diplomats.
Manning twice attempted suicide last year at Fort Leavenworth, a male military prison.
She also went on a hunger strike last year, which she ended after the military agreed to provide her with gender transition treatment.


There has been a call for a special meeting of Castlereagh Borough Council to discuss the closure of the Robinson Leisure Centre due to asbestos.

The centre was closed on Friday after asbestos was found in hard-to-access areas, and further survey work is being carried out.
Alliance Party councillor Michael Long said people needed information as soon as possible.
"It's important that this is looked at intensively," Mr Long said.
"We have called for a special council meeting to be called to discuss the temporary closure of the Robinson centre.
"Some people yesterday evening had turned up at the facility and were actually standing outside unaware what had happened.
"It's obviously very difficult for the council to communicate exactly what had happened given the short notice, but I think it's now important that we have a full and open discussion to allow people to know exactly what is going on."
Earlier, the mayor of Castlereagh said he hoped the closure of the east Belfast centre was a temporary measure.
The mayor, the DUP's Jack Beattie, said he did not think people should be alarmed.
"The (council) officer from Belfast, who are taking over this facility, had come in and found a small area somewhere not open to the public and he said there was some of this asbestos showing," he said.
"Our officers, not wanting to do the wrong thing, had decided in the afternoon that they would close it and further investigate it.
"The health and safety people will come in and have a look at it and then a report will come out."
In a statement on its website on Friday, Castlereagh Council said asbestos had been found "in a previously unrecorded and difficult to access area".
The asbestos was discovered during a building management survey.
The council said further survey work was ongoing and the Health and Safety Executive NI (HSENI) was working with them.
"As a precautionary measure, the council has taken immediate action to close the centre until the full results of the survey is known," the statement said.
"It should be noted that materials containing asbestos are commonly found in buildings of a similar age, however with regular monitoring and management the risk is negligible."


David Cameron's legacy as prime minister will be taking Scotland to the brink of withdrawal from the EU, the SNP's Angus Robertson has told MPs.

Speaking at Mr Cameron's final Prime Minister's Questions, Mr Robertson said he could not applaud such a record.
The prime minister said his successor Theresa May was a "brilliant negotiator" who would secure a good deal for the UK and for Scotland.
David Cameron is due to be replaced as prime minister by Mrs May.
Mr Robertson did however wish Mr Cameron and his family well "notwithstanding our differences".
During a raucous PMQs in which Mr Cameron was loudly praised by his own MPs, the SNP's Westminster leader said: "The prime minister's legacy will undoubtedly be that he has taken us to the brink of being taken out of the European Union, so we will not be applauding his premiership on these benches.
"What advice has he given his successor on taking Scotland out of the EU against the wishes of Scottish voters?"
The prime minister responded that the UK should "should try to be as close to the European Union as we can be, for the benefits of trade, of co-operation and of security".
He added: "The channel will not get any wider once we leave the European Union and that is the relationship we should seek. That will be good for the United Kingdom and for Scotland."
Angus Robertson also used Mr Cameron's final appearance at the dispatch box to attack Mrs May and draw further attention to the Brain family, who are facing deportation from the UK after coming to the Highlands from Australia in 2011.
He told the House of Commons: "The prime minister's successor is very, very well known in Scotland...because of the threat to deport the very much liked and loved Brain family from the Highlands."
Mr Robertson said one of Mrs May's first tasks would be to impose Trident "against the will of almost every single MP from Scotland".
The prime minister said he was hopeful that the Brain family would secure a work visa to remain in Scotland.
Mr Cameron said:  "We've given them an extension to the 1 August to put in an application for a work visa in the normal way, and I very much hope that will happen.
"On Trident, there will be a vote in this house and it's right that this house should decide and many people in Scotland support our nuclear deterrent, maintaining it and the jobs that come to Scotland.
"He asks about the record of this government when it comes to Scotland, well I'll tell him what it is - 143,000 more people in work in Scotland, massive investment in the renewable industries in Scotland, the two biggest war ships ever built in our history built in Scotland, a powerhouse parliament, a referendum that was legal, decisive and fair and, I might add, a Scotsman winning Wimbledon twice while I was prime minister.
"Never mind Indy2, I think it's time for Andy2."