Gov't to approve flotilla probe; WH: prompt inquiry essential.
By HERB KEINON, JPOST.COM STAFF311_commando raid(photo credit: Associated Press)The cabinet will be called into special session on Monday morning and asked to approve the establishment of a special independent committee to investigate the Gaza flotilla raid that will include an observer from Canada and one from Northern Ireland, the Prime Minister's Office announced close to midnight on Sunday.The White House responded to the announcement, saying the proposed committee was an important step, that the administration had confidence in Israel's ability to conduct an impartial, credible, and transparent investigation. The statement stressed that as prompt as possible presentation of the investigation results to the international community was now of the essence.RELATED:'Don't undo blockade it weakens Hams,' Israel tells EUIsraelwaits on US, EU to launch probeOpinion:We need an international inquiry - without AmericaThe committee will be headed by retired Supreme Court judge Jacob Terkel, with the other Israeli members being international law expert Shabtai Rosen, and Maj.-Gen (res.) Amos Horev, who formerly served as president of the Technion.The international observers, who will participate both in the hearings and the consultations, are David Trimble, a politician from Northern Ireland who served as leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) and shared the 1998 Nobel Peace Prize with John Hume, and Canadian Ken Watkin, the former Judge Advocate General of the Armed Forces.According to a statement put out by the Prime Minister's Office, the committee will make determinations regarding whether the steps Israel took to prevent ships from reaching the Gaza coast, and "other matters tied up with this," were in accordance with international law.The PMO statement, issued close to midnight, said the committee will also deal with the following matters:• The security circumstances that led to the naval blockade
• The acts Israel took on May 31 to stop the flotilla from reaching Gaza, and whether these were in accordance with international law• The steps taken by the organizers of the flotilla and the identity of those who took part.The statement said the committee can request testimony from anyone or any organization, including the prime minister, defense minister, chief of general staff and government ministers.Regarding questioning soldiers, the committee will have access to the conclusions of the investigation and will be able to request documents from an IDF-established committee, headed by former head of the National Security Council Maj.-Gen. (res.) Giora Eiland, looking into the operational aspect of the incident. If the committee decides that further investigation into these matters is needed, it will have the authority to instruct Eiland to do so.The committee can close the hearings to the public if it feels that open hearings will endanger the country's security or its diplomaticrelations with other countries. According to the statement, testimony given the committee will not be used in any possible court procedure against anyone involved.The appointment of Terkel to head the probe has raised eyebrows regarding what the committee would be empowered to do, since in an Army Radio interview last week, he said he was not an advocate of investigative committees drawing “personal conclusions” concerning those involved.“I am not a fan of personal conclusions,” he said.“What is foremost in my mind is the principle. Whether someone will be removed from his position, or whether his promotion will be frozen, is secondary in my mind.”Terkel, whose comments came before he was approached to head the committee, said the intelligence-gathering that preceded the raid on the Turkish-flagged Mavi Marmara two weeks ago had not been not sufficient, and that not all possibilities had been properly considered.
