Israel Cabinet to discuss Gaza flotilla attack probe modalities

JERUSALEM - The Israeli Cabinet will meet here on Monday to approve the establishment of a special independent committee to investigate the Gaza flotilla raid.

The committee will include observers from Canada and Northern Ireland, Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu’s Office announced Sunday.

The Jerusalem Post quoted the White House as saying that the proposed committee was an important step, and added that the administration was confident about Israel’s ability to conduct an impartial, credible, and transparent investigation.

Retired Supreme Court Judge Jacob Terkel, international law expert Shabtai Rosen and Major General (retired) Amos Horev will be part of the committee conducting the probe.

The international observers will participate both in the hearings and the consultations. They are David Trimble, a politician from Northern Ireland who served as leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) and shared the 1998 Nobel Peace Prize with John Hume, and Canadian Ken Watkin, the former Judge Advocate General of the Armed Forces.

According to a statement put out by the Prime Minister’s Office, the committee will make determinations regarding whether the steps Israel took to prevent ships from reaching the Gaza coast, and “other matters tied up with this,” were in accordance with international law. (ANI)