TEL AVIV, Israel—Israel and Turkey will both participate in an inquiry into the deadly Gaza flotilla raid of May 31, announced United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon on Monday, calling the launch of the panel “an unprecedented development.”
On May 31, a six-ship flotilla bound for the Gaza Strip was captured by the Israeli Defense Force (IDF). Nine passengers aboard one ship were killed in the subsequent confrontation and at least 30 were injured.
Following the incident, the U.N. decided to launch an investigation to examine the conduct of the IDF, and has been in intensive consultations to establish the committee ever since.
After meeting with U.N Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel is ready for full participation.
“Israel has nothing to hide. The opposite is true. It is in the national interest of the State of Israel to ensure that the factual truth of the overall flotilla events comes to light throughout the world and this is exactly the principle that we are advancing,” said Netanyahu according to a statement by his media advisor, Nir Hefetz.
Former Prime Minister of New Zealand, Geoffrey Palmer, will serve as its chairman and outgoing Colombian president, Alvaro Uribe, will be vice chairman.
The inquiry will commence its work on August 10 and is expected to submit its progress report in mid-September.
Ban thanked the leaders of Israel and Turkey for their spirit of compromise, adding that he hoped Monday’s agreement would have a positive impact on the relationship between the two countries, as well as the general situation in the Middle East.
The panel will receive Israel’s internal investigation reports.
In addition to the panel announced today, the U.N. Human Rights Council will send a delegation of three fact-finding investigators to look into violations of international law arising from the incident.
