‘If it has nothing to hide, Israel should agree to probe on ship raid’

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has proposed the establishment of an international commission to investigate the lethal Israeli operation that has caused an international uproar and intensified calls for an end to the Israeli blockade of the impoverished Gaza Strip. However, Israel swiftly rejected the proposal.

“The international community is facing a serious test. Does a country have the right to intercept a ship in international waters or not? This is a question that has priority,” Davutoğlu said at a joint news conference with the foreign ministers of Afghanistan and Pakistan yesterday. Davutoğlu met with Zalmai Rassoul of Afghanistan and Shah Mehmood Qureshi of Pakistan as part of a trilateral process launched in April 2007 on Turkey's initiative. 

The trilateral meeting was held on the sidelines of a summit of a 20-member Asian security forum, the Conference on Interactions and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA), which began at Çırağan Palace in İstanbul yesterday. 

According to Ban’s proposal, which he conveyed to the Turkish and Israeli prime ministers on Saturday, a five-member panel would investigate the operation. The panel would be headed by former New Zealand Prime Minister Geoffrey Palmer and include a representative from both Turkey and Israel. Two members, one international law expert and one military expert, would be appointed by Ban, Turkish officials said, giving no information on their nationalities.

Recalling that Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan already accepted Ban’s proposal, while describing Ban’s approach as “active and pre-emptive,” Davutoğlu continued, saying, “If Israel rejects this proposal, prevents this commission’s studies and ignores the results of these studies, [then] Israel has to account [for its actions] before international law.”

The push for an international inquiry puts Israel under further pressure to explain how its attempt to stop the aid ship from breaching a blockade of Hamas-ruled Gaza turned deadly. It could also cast light on the motives and plans of some of the ship’s passengers, who Israel says were Islamic extremists intent on attacking its troops. Israel has resisted calls for an independent investigation into the raid, saying it is capable of investigating the incident itself. It also resists subjecting its soldiers to an international inquiry.

“If they don’t avoid it, if they believe that a crime has been committed [by the ship’s passengers], if they have the conviction that they protected their interests and rights, then let them come up and declare that they accept this international commission. If they don’t accept this international commission, it means that they have facts to hide,” Davutoğlu said.

Nine Turks were killed last Monday during the Israeli commando raid of the Mavi Marmara, part of a six-vessel convoy that set out to challenge the blockade of the Gaza Strip.

Israel said its troops used lethal force in self-defense after they were supposedly attacked by pro-Palestinian activists wielding clubs and knives, while both Turkish leaders and the public were infuriated by the killings.

Erdoğan said Israel must be punished and that “nothing would ever be the same” between the two nations, accusing Israel of breaking the biblical commandment “thou shalt not kill.”

Turkey, which had a solid alliance with Israel until the three-week Gaza war that ended in early 2009, said it would reduce military and trade ties and shelve discussions on energy projects, including natural gas and fresh water shipments. It threatened to break ties unless Israel apologizes for the raid.

“We are evaluating everything. It is up to Israel how our ties will continue,” Davutoğlu said. “Israel has to accept the consequences of its actions and be held accountable.”

Davutoğlu further underlined that the “normalization of Turkish-Israeli relations was out of the question,” unless Israel conforms to international law. He said Turkey would pursue accountability in the killing of nine of its citizens.

Turkey, which is protecting not only the rights of its own citizens but also the rights of humanity, is ready to respond to all questions on this issue, Davutoğlu said.

“If some countries are above or outside [the jurisdiction] of international law and if it is considered this way by the international community, then this should also be openly declared. Then we should also know to what extent international law functions in the high seas.”