JERUSALEM: Israel said on Sunday it would set up its own
investigation into a deadly raid on a convoy of Gaza-bound aid
ships, and that its panel would include two foreign
observers.
The internal inquiry into the March 31 raid, which falls short of a
UN proposal for an international investigation, was decided on
after consultations with the United States.
The White House welcomed the move as an important step and said
Israel was capable of conducting a fair investigation.
"But we will not prejudge the process or its outcome, and will
await the conduct and findings of the investigation before drawing
further conclusions," White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said in a
statement.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said in a
statement the government would give its final approval on Monday to
forming an "independent public commission" into whether or not
Israel had conformed to international law in imposing a naval
blockade on the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip.
Israel said its commandos killed nine pro-Palestinian Turkish
activists when they boarded a Turkish-flagged aid vessel and were
attacked by passengers wielding metal rods and knives. The
committee will examine the flotilla members, as well.
Amid an international outcry over the bloodshed, Israel has faced
mounting pressure to investigate the events surrounding the
flotilla raid and to ease or lift its blockade.
Hamas Islamists, who refuse to recognise Israel and renounce
violence, seized control of the Gaza Strip in
2007.