Turkish Foreign Minister
Ahmet Davutoglu praised the UN flotilla report's findings on Thursday, saying that the conclusions had met Turkey's expectations and were fair.
On Wednesday, three UN-appointed human rights experts announced their findings, stating that Israeli
forces violated international law when they raided a Gaza-bound aid
flotilla and killed nine activists earlier this year.
The UN Human
Rights Council's fact-finding mission concluded that the naval blockade
of Gaza was unlawful because of the humanitarian crisis there, and
described the military raid on the flotilla as brutal and
disproportionate.
After the report was released on Wednesday evening, MK Haneen Zoabi (Balad) lauded the findings of the panel.
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Zoabi was keen to praise the "professionalism and fairness in [the Human
Rights Council's fact finding mission's] efforts to reveal the
truth." She also called on Israel to move forward with the findings of the panel and to indict the Israeli citizens responsible for the Mavi Marmara boarding operation.
"We must not settle for declarations of condemnation but we must work to put the criminals to justice, those who ordered and those who carried out the orders," Zoabi said.
She added, "All attempts of character assassination will not make Israel appear innocent."
Zoabi was one of the flotilla participants aboard the Mavi Marmara when it was boarded by IDF naval commandos. The
56-page document lists a series of alleged crimes committed by Israeli
forces during and after the raid, including willful killing and torture,
and claims there is "clear evidence to support prosecutions."
"A
series of violations of international law, including international
humanitarian and human rights law, were committed by the Israeli forces
during the interception of the flotilla and during the detention of
passengers in Israel prior to deportation," the experts found.
Examining
the circumstances of the raid, the panel concluded that a humanitarian
crisis existed in Gaza on the day of the incident and "for this
reason alone the blockade is unlawful and cannot be sustained in law."
"The
conduct of the Israeli military and other personnel toward the flotilla
passengers was not only disproportionate to the occasion but
demonstrated levels of totally unnecessary and incredible violence. It
betrayed an unacceptable level of brutality," the report said.
Foreign Ministry blasts report as biased
The Foreign Ministry responded late Wednesday
by saying the Human Rights Council had a "biased, politicized and
extremist approach."
"The Human Rights Council blamed Israel prior to the investigation and
it is no surprise that they condemn after," said Andy David, a spokesman
for the Israeli Foreign Ministry, referring to the 47-member body's
resolution in early June condemning the raid.
Israel refused to cooperate with the panel, preferring instead to work
with a separate UN group under New Zealand's former Prime Minister
Geoffrey Palmer and Colombia's former President Alvaro Uribe that is
also examining the incident but has yet to publish its findings.
"Israel is a democratic and law abiding country that carefully observes
international law and, when need be, knows how to investigate itself,"
the Foreign Ministry statement said. "That is how Israel has always
acted, and that is the way in which investigations were conducted
following Operation Cast Lead, launched to protect the inhabitants of
southern Israel from rockets and terror attacks carried out by Hamas
from Gaza."