Jerusalem – A commission appointed by Israeli officials to investigate last month’s deadly flotilla raid will ask top government authorities to testify, the panel said at its first session today.
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The panel is headed by retired Supreme Court Justice Ya’acov Terkel, maritime law professor Shabtai Rosenne and retired Maj. Gen. Amos Horev, a military expert. The panel also has two international observers: David Trimble of Northern Ireland, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate for his role in the Good Friday Agreement on Northern Ireland, and retired Brig. Gen. Ken Watkin of Canada.
The committee is officially known as the Independent Public Commission to Examine the Maritime Incident of May 31, 2010.
In his opening remarks, Terkel emphasized he would be questioning the top echelons of the Israeli leadership.
“The commission has decided to summon very shortly the prime minister, the minister of defense, the chief of staff (of the Israeli army) and other senior witnesses,” Terkel said.
Terkel also outlined the panel’s mandate.
“The commission was asked to relate to the security circumstances related to the maritime blockade on Gaza, and it’s conformity to international law,” he said. “Also, the commission was asked to investigate the conformity of actions undertaken by Israel to enforce the maritime blockade on 31st of May.”
He stressed that commission sessions would be open to the public as much as possible.
Israeli naval commandos raided the Turkish vessel Mavi Marmara, the largest of a six-boat flotilla carrying humanitarian supplies organized by international pro-Palestinian activists who attempted to break the Israeli naval blockade of Gaza. Nine Turkish activists were killed and dozens wounded. A number of Israeli soldiers were injured as well.
Trimble said the commission aims to undertake a robust probe.
“I can say that we are all determined that the inquiry be rigorous,” he said. “I hope that it can thereby make a positive contribution to peace.”
This Commission should provide much needed answers as to why this operation was not better planned and did not contemplate the kind of resistance they encountered. Also, why all the other means of stopping the ships through covert actions were not viable.
While they may not have any big groiseh Turks on the panel to appease the the Turks, let’s hope that the fact that the commission is lead by a small kleineh “Turkel” will make alleh “Turkelach” tzufridden.
Here’s what i have found in MY probe…. (It took about 3 minutes, a half a brain and cost no money…..)
The Israeli soldiers have been dangled like fish bait into a tank of vicious blood thirsty sub human sharks and were thus attacked those sharks and instead of being equipped to handle those creatures they were forced to use deadly force too little too late….
HELLO!!! AM I MISSING SOMETHING??? WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU GUYS INVESTIGATING?!?!
its a heads we win,tales tou lose situation.if they come out like the Goldstein report and villify Israel.the whole would want blood.if israel is vindicated ,it will be ignored because it was impartial due to the fact that the probe was not UN led.
In 1982, Christian Phlangist soldiers broke into Sabra and Sheteela refugee camps in Lebanon, and slaughtered hundreds of men, women, and children. An Israeli commission found that Gen. Ariel Sharon bore indirect responsibility for not doing more to have prevented that carnage from occurring. Similarly, another commission blamed the Israeli military and Israeli politicians for not being better prepared for the Yom Kippur War. We’ve seen these commissions over the years; although they try to be objective, nothing seems to change. Israel always wins battles, but loses in the world of public opinion. The Israelis won’t admit it, but behind the scenes at the highest levels, they wish that the flotilla raid was handled differently.