“We emphasize our interest in an impartial, independent and internationally credible investigation into this matter,” said the İstanbul Declaration, the final declaration released at the end of the three-day summit of the South-East European Cooperation Process (SEECP) hosted in İstanbul. Israel has dismissed calls for an international probe and initiated an internal probe instead.
Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak also appealed to the UN this week to shelve its plans for an international probe with Turkish and Israeli participation.
“Reaffirming our commitment to international law, we stress the urgent need for alleviation of the humanitarian situation in Gaza. In this context, we expect that the announcements of the government of Israel will be quickly followed by concrete measures with an immediate positive impact on the lives of the people of Gaza,” the declaration said.
The declaration failed to use the word “condemnation” and used instead the word “deplore” following a consensus among members to that effect. Turkish officials declined to comment when asked by Today’s Zaman whether there was clear objection from any member against use of the word “condemnation.”
“We deplore the loss of life and injuries during the incident in the international waters of the Eastern Mediterranean,” the declaration said.
