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Ankara welcomes UN’s role in realization of ‘aid project’ to Gaza
Israel’s navy took control of a six-ship convoy trying to run the Jewish state’s blockade of Gaza and forced it to dock in Israeli ports. Nine people were killed aboard one vessel, the Turkish Mavi Marmara, provoking an international outcry. Israel said its commandos acted in self-defense.
Having won the consent of Israel and the cargo’s Turkish owners to do so, the United Nations is ready to take responsibility for the delivery of the aid cargo “on an exceptional basis,” UN Middle East envoy Robert Serry told the Security Council on Tuesday.
“The fact that the humanitarian aid material on ships taking part in the Gaza aid convoy will be distributed to Gaza by the UN with consent of all parties is considered a positive development in regards to allowing the aids project to achieve its goal,” the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a written statement late Tuesday.
“Within this context, the constructive role being played by the UN is received with pleasure,” the ministry statement, which came in the form of an answer to a journalist’s question by Foreign Ministry spokesman Burak Özügergin, said.
In New York, Serry said the world body “has obtained the consent of the cargo owners of the three Turkish-registered vessels to take possession of and responsibility for the entire cargo and ensure its timely distribution in Gaza for humanitarian purposes as determined by the United Nations.”
“The government of Israel has agreed to release the entire cargo to the United Nations in Gaza, again on the understanding that it is for the United Nations to determine its appropriate humanitarian use in Gaza,” he added.
 Items that were aboard the aid ships are seen in storage in Tel Aviv. Turkey expressed pleasure over the UN’s announcement that it has agreed to deliver the cargo to Gaza. |
Serry said he had reason to believe that the “de facto authorities” in Gaza -- a reference to the Hamas militant group that controls the Palestinian territory -- would allow the United Nations to determine where the aid went.
In exclusive remarks to the Anatolia news agency, Serry said he wanted to “additionally” thank the Turkish government for giving a role to the UN in transportation of the aid cargo -- collected by the Turkish people -- to Gaza, calling this an element which would ease the current tension. Israel has blockaded the territory since Hamas took it over three years ago, allowing in only what it considers essential goods. An Israeli cabinet minister said on Tuesday that the Jewish state is examining ways to ease the blockade.
The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) runs an extensive aid and education operation in Gaza. Serry, who was making a regular monthly report to the Security Council on the Middle East, said the United Nations would begin the distribution effort as soon as possible.
He said the United Nations had not been approached about the cargo aboard other diverted aid ships, including the Rachel Corrie, boarded by the Israeli navy on June 5 and brought to the port of Ashdod, but would try to help if it was. Serry also made it clear that UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s proposal for a full international inquiry into the May 31 storming of the aid flotilla was in addition to the investigation Israel itself plans to carry out.
The United Nations said on Monday the Israeli probe “could fit with” Ban’s proposal, which it said remained on the table.
“The two [inquiries] combined would fully meet the international community’s expectation for a credible and impartial investigation,” Serry said. “The two approaches are complementary.”
Serry stated that during a closed-door discussion in the Security Council on Tuesday, “I think there was support expressed for what the secretary-general tries to do.”
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