INQUIRY:ISRAEL'S SENIOR ministers have failed again to decide on what kind of inquiry to set up into last week's maritime raid against the Gaza-bound aid flotilla as the opposition accused the government of shirking responsibility.
With international pressure on Israel mounting following the killing of the nine Turkish activists, prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu convened another meeting of his senior ministers yesterday, who again failed to reach a decision.
Israel has already rejected the proposal by United Nations secretary general Ban Ki-moon for an inquiry headed by former New Zealand prime minister Geoffrey Palmer, and the initiative from the UN’s human rights council in Geneva for an international investigation.
A consensus seemed to be emerging among the ministers for an Israeli panel of respected jurists, with two or three international legal figures participating as observers. There was wall-to-wall opposition to allowing any of the naval commandos who participated in the deadly raid, or their officers, to be questioned above and beyond the internal Israel Defence Forces investigation. It remains to be seen if a predominantly Israeli inquiry will satisfy the demands of the international community, including Israel’s allies.
The head of the opposition, Tsippi Livni, accused the government of trying to avoid responsibility and shift the blame to the military. Presenting a motion of no-confidence, which was defeated by the Knesset parliament, Ms Livni backed the government’s opposition to an international inquiry and to questioning soldiers, but said the country was becoming increasingly isolated. She added that this might be the most difficult time in Israel’s history. “It is time for this government to stop second-guessing its every move. The prime minister should be the one interrogated and not the soldiers.”
Mr Netanyahu said that “with more flotillas on their way”, this was no time for no-confidence measures.
The Israeli naval commandos were back in action yesterday, killing four Palestinians in a boat off the coast of Gaza. A fifth militant was reported missing.
The Israeli military claimed the Palestinians, members of the al- Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, a militant group linked to Fatah, were on their way to carrying out an attack in Israel. Palestinian sources said the men, who were wearing diving gear, were unarmed.
Meanwhile, Mr Netanyahu issued a statement on the peaceful outcome for the Irish aid ship, the MV Rachel Corrie: “Yesterday, the entire world saw the difference between a humanitarian flotilla and a hate flotilla by violent, terrorism-supporting extremists. In both incidents, Israel used an identical procedure: We proposed that the ships unload their cargo in Ashdod port, where it would undergo a security check to prevent the entry of weapons to Hamas, after which the civilian goods would be delivered to Gaza.”