silko
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UN to advise Israel to offer apology and pay compensation to Turkey
In this May 31, 2010 file photo the Mavi Marmara ship, headed to the Gaza Strip which was raided by Israeli naval commandos in a deadly attack, sails into the port of Ashdod, Israel.
A report that was prepared by a UN panel inquiry into the deadly Israeli raid on an aid flotilla in May 2010 that killed nine civilians in international waters has advised Israel to cave into demands by Turkey -- offer an apology and pay compensation for the normalization of bilateral relations. Although the report is complete, it has not officially been released yet.
It was revealed earlier this week that Israeli and Turkish diplomats met in New York to draft a statement regarding the incident that would satisfy both sides. The killings have been dubbed as “the Mavi Marmara incident,” as the raid took place on a vessel called the Mavi Marmara, which is owned by a Turkish charity. The ship was part of the international aid flotilla that attempted to breach an Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip. Eight Turkish nationals and one Turkish-American were killed in incident on May 31, 2010 when Israeli marines stormed the Mavi Marmara.
One of those killed was Furkan Doğan, a 19-year-old Turkish-American who held duel citizenship.
The UN established an inquiry panel in early August 2010. The panel consists of former New Zealand Prime Minister Geoffrey Palmer as the chairman and former Colombian President Alvaro Uribe as vice chairman, as well as Israel’s Joseph Ciechanover and Turkey’s Özdem Sanberk.
A spokesperson from the UN secretary-general’s office said on Tuesday that more time was needed with regards to the report by the UN panel investigating the attack on the Mavi Marmara incident. Spokesperson Martin Nesirky told reporters that more time was needed and had been given to the panel to prepare a final report.
A reliable source at the UN headquarters, who requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue, told Today’s Zaman on Wednesday that in its report, the inquiry panel is advising Israel to offer an apology and pay compensation to Turkey over the killings. The report is expected to be presented to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon upon his return to New York. He was on a visit to Spain earlier this week and then headed to a trilateral summit with Greek and Turkish Cypriot leaders in Geneva on Thursday. The report, which will only be signed by Palmer and Uribe, is expected to argue that the blockage of Gaza by Israel is legal. If the report were to be released with content legitimizing and legalizing Israel’s blockade and embargo on Gaza, it would spark a harsh reaction from Turkey.
“If they really drafted a report saying that the blockage is legal, then it means that they do not have the slightest idea about international law. Drafting such a report would mean that they are not relying on international legal norms but instead, they are creating a new international legal norm that does not actually exist,” a Turkish governmental official, who requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue, told Today’s Zaman on Thursday.
“If the report eventually emerges with content that legitimizes and legalizes Israel’s blockage and embargo on Gaza, the report will be legally invalid,” the official added.
An interim report prepared by Turkish officials and submitted to the United Nations in September puts Israel’s ongoing occupation and blockade of Gaza under the spotlight by using UN Security Council Resolution 1860, which outlines support for sending humanitarian assistance to Gaza and removing the blockade of Gaza and help the socioeconomic reconstruction of the region. The report apparently did so because the fundamental reason for the six-ship aid flotilla sailing to Gaza was Israel’s continued siege of the territory.
The report noted that the 1958 and the 1982 conventions restricted the right of a warship to seize a foreign ship and its property and arrest people on board only in the case of pirate ships or aircraft.
“According to the San Remo Manual, vessels engaged in humanitarian missions, including vessels carrying supplies, are exempt from attack. The Mavi Marmara and the other ships of the convoy were all transporting humanitarian aid vital for the survival of the civilian population in Gaza. Based solely on this ground, the Israeli forces failed to meet the established rules of maritime interdiction in international waters. In other words, the conduct of Israel is de jure unlawful,” it said.
Israel has ‘no explanation’ for killings
The UN-sponsored report, meanwhile, blames Israel for using force prematurely and causing “unacceptable” deaths, while underlining that Israel has not been able to make any “explanation” to justify the killings.
Non-violent options should have been used in the first instance, the report says, while pointing out that Israeli naval commandos didn’t try any non-violent methods when they boarded the ship and instead, directly resorted to violence.
The same Turkish government official, speaking with Today’s Zaman on Thursday, underlined that Turkey also presented autopsy reports of the deaths that clearly showed the brutality of Israeli commandos during the attack. The official said he would not be surprised if the panel comes out with a report that will extremely embarrass Israel. It is possible for Israel to disown the report, the official added.
After presenting its interim report to the panel on Sept. 1, 2010, Turkey presented its final report on Feb. 11, 2011. Israel, which was obliged to present its report to the panel last November, could only submit its first report on Jan. 23, 2011.
UN to advise Israel to offer apology and pay compensation to Turkey
In this May 31, 2010 file photo the Mavi Marmara ship, headed to the Gaza Strip which was raided by Israeli naval commandos in a deadly attack, sails into the port of Ashdod, Israel.
A report that was prepared by a UN panel inquiry into the deadly Israeli raid on an aid flotilla in May 2010 that killed nine civilians in international waters has advised Israel to cave into demands by Turkey -- offer an apology and pay compensation for the normalization of bilateral relations. Although the report is complete, it has not officially been released yet.
It was revealed earlier this week that Israeli and Turkish diplomats met in New York to draft a statement regarding the incident that would satisfy both sides. The killings have been dubbed as “the Mavi Marmara incident,” as the raid took place on a vessel called the Mavi Marmara, which is owned by a Turkish charity. The ship was part of the international aid flotilla that attempted to breach an Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip. Eight Turkish nationals and one Turkish-American were killed in incident on May 31, 2010 when Israeli marines stormed the Mavi Marmara.
One of those killed was Furkan Doğan, a 19-year-old Turkish-American who held duel citizenship.
The UN established an inquiry panel in early August 2010. The panel consists of former New Zealand Prime Minister Geoffrey Palmer as the chairman and former Colombian President Alvaro Uribe as vice chairman, as well as Israel’s Joseph Ciechanover and Turkey’s Özdem Sanberk.
A spokesperson from the UN secretary-general’s office said on Tuesday that more time was needed with regards to the report by the UN panel investigating the attack on the Mavi Marmara incident. Spokesperson Martin Nesirky told reporters that more time was needed and had been given to the panel to prepare a final report.
A reliable source at the UN headquarters, who requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue, told Today’s Zaman on Wednesday that in its report, the inquiry panel is advising Israel to offer an apology and pay compensation to Turkey over the killings. The report is expected to be presented to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon upon his return to New York. He was on a visit to Spain earlier this week and then headed to a trilateral summit with Greek and Turkish Cypriot leaders in Geneva on Thursday. The report, which will only be signed by Palmer and Uribe, is expected to argue that the blockage of Gaza by Israel is legal. If the report were to be released with content legitimizing and legalizing Israel’s blockade and embargo on Gaza, it would spark a harsh reaction from Turkey.
“If they really drafted a report saying that the blockage is legal, then it means that they do not have the slightest idea about international law. Drafting such a report would mean that they are not relying on international legal norms but instead, they are creating a new international legal norm that does not actually exist,” a Turkish governmental official, who requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue, told Today’s Zaman on Thursday.
“If the report eventually emerges with content that legitimizes and legalizes Israel’s blockage and embargo on Gaza, the report will be legally invalid,” the official added.
An interim report prepared by Turkish officials and submitted to the United Nations in September puts Israel’s ongoing occupation and blockade of Gaza under the spotlight by using UN Security Council Resolution 1860, which outlines support for sending humanitarian assistance to Gaza and removing the blockade of Gaza and help the socioeconomic reconstruction of the region. The report apparently did so because the fundamental reason for the six-ship aid flotilla sailing to Gaza was Israel’s continued siege of the territory.
The report noted that the 1958 and the 1982 conventions restricted the right of a warship to seize a foreign ship and its property and arrest people on board only in the case of pirate ships or aircraft.
“According to the San Remo Manual, vessels engaged in humanitarian missions, including vessels carrying supplies, are exempt from attack. The Mavi Marmara and the other ships of the convoy were all transporting humanitarian aid vital for the survival of the civilian population in Gaza. Based solely on this ground, the Israeli forces failed to meet the established rules of maritime interdiction in international waters. In other words, the conduct of Israel is de jure unlawful,” it said.
Israel has ‘no explanation’ for killings
The UN-sponsored report, meanwhile, blames Israel for using force prematurely and causing “unacceptable” deaths, while underlining that Israel has not been able to make any “explanation” to justify the killings.
Non-violent options should have been used in the first instance, the report says, while pointing out that Israeli naval commandos didn’t try any non-violent methods when they boarded the ship and instead, directly resorted to violence.
The same Turkish government official, speaking with Today’s Zaman on Thursday, underlined that Turkey also presented autopsy reports of the deaths that clearly showed the brutality of Israeli commandos during the attack. The official said he would not be surprised if the panel comes out with a report that will extremely embarrass Israel. It is possible for Israel to disown the report, the official added.
After presenting its interim report to the panel on Sept. 1, 2010, Turkey presented its final report on Feb. 11, 2011. Israel, which was obliged to present its report to the panel last November, could only submit its first report on Jan. 23, 2011.
UN to advise Israel to offer apology and pay compensation to Turkey
apology? compensation? as far as i know the report states that the blockade is legal and so do the boarding
