ISRAELI FOREIGN ministry officials and the military’s legal advisers reportedly warned the navy not to intercept the Gaza-bound aid flotilla last week in international waters.
According to Haaretz newspaper, the Israeli officials believed that a maritime raid outside Israel’s self-imposed maritime exclusion zone was legal, but would make it difficult for Israeli diplomacy and public relations after the event.
Nine Turkish activists were killed and dozens of others were injured during clashes when Israeli commandos boarded the largest ship in the aid flotilla, the Mavi Marmara.
Haaretz quoted a senior foreign ministry official warning the military to wait until the flotilla entered the exclusion zone before acting.
“If somebody breaks into your home and you shoot him after he enters the doorway, there’s no problem in justifying this action in court,” the official said. “But if you attack the burglar while he is on his way to your house at a distance of two blocks away, then you have a problem.”
The military planners allegedly ignored the foreign ministry’s warnings, opting to intercept the boats in international waters in order to give the soldiers more time to operate.
Israel’s Channel 2 television station reported last night that the Israeli inquiry will be headed by a retired judge and will investigate such issues as the legality of the maritime blockade, legal precedents for such a blockade and the legality of the naval raid.
Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu explained the aim of the Israeli inquiry. “The investigation must include answers to questions that some in the international community want to ignore. Who was behind the extremists on the deck of the ship? Who funded the group, how did axes, clubs, knives and other weapons find their way to the deck? The world needs to know the full picture, and we will make sure the whole picture comes to light.”
Hamas justice minister Faraj al-Ghoul and his Turkish counterpart Sadullah Ergin have decided to work together to file lawsuits against Israeli commandos who took part in the raid.
Hamas leaders in Gaza announced yesterday that they will not let newly-approved food items into the strip as long as Israel maintains its blockade .
Israel slightly eased the blockade on Wednesday allowing in such items as soda, jam, juices, crisps, biscuits and sweets. But Hamas economy minister, Ziad al-Zaza, said Gaza needs raw materials , not soft drinks.
Meanwhile, Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin has said he will soon propose to Government the action he believes appropriate regarding the use of forged Irish passports by suspects in the murder of a Hamas official.
Mr Martin told the Oireachtas European Affairs Committee yesterday that he remains anxious that the matter be given “the attention and focus it merits” and that it does not become “mixed up” with issues arising from the Israeli commando raid on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla last week.
“It remains my intention to very shortly propose to the Government the action I believe appropriate in this case,” he said.
Earlier this month The Irish Times revealed that senior officials had recommended the expulsion of an Israeli embassy security officer after concluding that Israel forged Irish passports used by the alleged assassins of Mahmoud al-Mahbouh.
There is no suggestion the two security officers currently posted at the embassy were involved in the forging of Irish passports.
Committee chairman Bernard Durkan said all committee members had indicated that they wanted to see the forged passports issue brought to conclusion. “There must be some sanction taken against those who would seek to illegally use Irish identity with nefarious intent,” he added.