UN announces probe into deadly Gaza raid

UN head Ban Ki-moon has announced an investigation into a deadly Israeli raid on an aid convoy heading for Gaza. Israeli media report that the Israeli government has agreed to cooperate in the investigation.

Reuters

The four-member committee that will oversee investigations into the death of nine Turkish activists on 31 May, will include one Israeli and a Turk. The panel that will be chaired by former New Zealand PM Geoffrey Palmer, will be releasing its first progress report by mid-September.

It is the first time Israel will cooperate in an investigation into its own military forces. It is not yet clear to what extent the government will cooperate in the investigation. In a statement on Monday, Israeli PM Benyamin Netanyahu said on Monday that the country was prepared to participate in the probe because it had “nothing to hide.”

"The opposite is true," Netanyahu said, adding that it was in "Israel's national interest to ensure that the factual truth regarding the flotilla incident would be exposed for the world to see," saying truth was "the principle we are promoting through this decision."

For months, the Jewish state has rejected calls for an independent investigation and instead formed its own commission with a retired Supreme Court judge. The about-turn followed diplomatic contacts and consultations with a seven-member Israeli ministerial forum to ensure that "this was indeed a panel with a balanced and fair written mandate," Netanyahu said Monday.

On Monday, Ban thanked the leaders of Israel and Turkey "for their spirit of compromise and forward-looking cooperation" which made possible what he called "an unprecedented development.