UN inquiry: Israel’s blockade of Gaza is legal
Posted by Richard on July 10, 2011
Well, this is something that doesn't happen every day: a UN committee siding with Israel! Both DEBKAfiles and Canada's National Post report that the UN inquiry into last year's Gaza flotilla incident has ruled that Israel's naval blockade of Gaza is legal and that it doesn't owe Turkey either an apology or reparations. According to the National Post's Michael Ross:
The UN investigative committee, headed by former Prime Minister of New Zealand and internationally renowned jurist, Geoffrey Palmer, actually criticizes Turkey for not doing enough to prevent the flotilla from setting sail and for also providing a somewhat anaemic and lacking investigation into the events of May 2010.
Now the part that is going to really take the starch out of the flotilla activist’s kafiyehs is that in its examination of the Turkel Committee’s report – the committee conducting Israel’s official investigation – aided by Nobel Peace Prize winner David Trimble and former Canadian Forces former Judge Advocate General, Ken Watkin QC, is its conclusion that the Israeli investigation (in stark contrast to Turkey’s) was conducted in a professional and independent manner.
For a UN report, the summary is astoundingly tepid in its criticism of Israel’s actions and constitutes a very mild slap on the wrist. The report mentions that while international law allows Israel to intercept ships far from its territorial waters, the navy would have been better off waiting until the flotilla was closer to the blockade line some 20 miles off shore. There is also the bromide of Israel using excessive force, but nobody disputes that when faced with attackers wielding iron bars, knives or axes, there is every justification for ditching the paintball gun for a real weapon in self-defence.
Greece is currently preventing this year's ten flotilla boats of "peace activists" from sailing for Gaza, so this seems to have been a bad week for leftist Hamas-lovers and Jew-haters.
In celebration, I'll repost the Latma TV Flotilla Choir's marvelous "We Con the World." Enjoy!
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