UN investigation backs Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza

Report backs Israel’s right to defend itself but says assault on pro-Palestinian flotilla was ‘excessive and unreasonable’ A United Nations investigation has backed Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza as legal but said its military assault on a flotilla of pro-Palestinian activists last year, in which nine Turks were killed, was “excessive and unreasonable”. The report notes that Israel has not satisfactorily explained how it is that most of the dead were shot multiple times, including in the back, and at close range. But it also said the organisers of the flotilla acted “recklessly” in attempting to breach the blockade. The report is expected to be released on Friday after months of delay because of a dispute between Israel and Turkey over its contents and Ankara’s demand for an apology from Israel for the deaths of its citizens. Turkey’s foreign minister, Ahmet Davutoglu, gave Israel one day to make the apology or face a further deterioration in relations with what had been the Jewish state’s closest ally in the region. Turkey has already withdrawn its ambassador from Tel Aviv. The Israeli government has repeatedly refused to make a full apology, although it has offered to express regret, saying it had a legal right to defend itself by maintaining the blockade of Gaza to prevent weapons reaching the Palestinian enclave. The 105-page report by a four person committee chaired by Sir Geoffrey Palmer, a former prime minister of New Zealand, backs Israel on that point and said it had the right to board six ships carrying protesters and humanitarian supplies. “Israel faces a real threat to its security from militant groups in Gaza. The naval blockade was imposed as a legitimate security measure in order to prevent weapons from entering Gaza by sea and its implementation complied with the requirements of international law,” the UN concluded. The report’s authors – who also include Alvaro Uribe, a former president of Colombia, and representatives Israel and Turkey – went on to criticise the flotilla’s organisers, a Turkish aid group. “Although people are entitled to express their political views, the flotilla acted recklessly in attempting to breach the naval blockade. The majority of the flotilla participants had no violent intentions, but there exist serious questions about the conduct, true nature and objectives of the flotilla organisers,” it said. The UN panel accepts Israel’s assertion that its forces faced armed resistance when they boarded one of the ships, the Turkish-registered Mavi Marmara. “Israeli Defence Forces personnel faced significant, organised and violent resistance from a group of passengers when they boarded the Mavi Marmara requiring them to use force for their own protection. Three soldiers were captured, mistreated, and placed at risk by those passengers. Several others were wounded,” it said. But the report said the Israeli force’s response was excessively violent in killing nine of the passengers and wounding many more. “No satisfactory explanation has been provided to the panel by Israel for any of the nine deaths. Forensic evidence showing that most of the deceased were shot multiple times, including in the back, or at close range has not been adequately accounted for in the material presented by Israel,” it said. The report goes on to criticise Israel for the “significant mistreatment of passengers” after they were taken off the ships including physical abuse, harassment, intimidation and unjustified confiscation of property. Israel will be pleased that the report backs the legality of its naval blockade – a move that Turkey is deeply unhappy with. But Israel will be embarrassed by the suggestion that its forces appear to have summarily executed some of the pro-Palestinian activists. The report recommends that Israel make “an appropriate statement of regret” and pay compensation to Turkey. Ankara wants more, including a full apology, before it returns its ambassador to its embassy in Tel Aviv. It also wants the blockade lifted or eased. Earlier this week, the Israeli prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, proposed that the Palmer report’s release be postponed once again while the diplomatic confrontation with Turkey is resolved. But Ankara rejected the move. Davutoglu told the Turkish newspaper, Today Zaman, that his government is not prepared to wait any longer. “For us the deadline is the day the UN report gets released, or we resort to Plan B,” Davutoglu said, but did not elaborate on what the alternate Turkish route would be. Davutoglu did not say what “Plan B” may be. However, the foreign minister recently told a news conference: “If the Palmer Report does not contain an apology, both sides and the United States know what we will do”. The report says that “the events of 31 May 2010 should never have taken place as they did and strenuous efforts should be made to prevent the occurrence of such incidents in the future”. That appears to be what happened when Greece prevented a second flotilla of eight ships from leaving its ports for Gaza in July. After several of the ships were put out of action by sabotage, including having propeller shafts cut, the remaining vessels were blocked by the Greek authorities under considerable diplomatic pressure. Palestinian territories United Nations Israel Turkey Middle East Chris McGreal guardian.co.uk

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