'We have nothing to hide'

Minister of Trade and Labor supports int'l probe of flotilla raid.

ben eliezer 311 (photo credit: Eli Neeman)
ben eliezer 311
(photo credit: Eli Neeman)
Trade and Labor Minister Binyamin Ben Eliezer said Thursday he does not object to an international commission of inquiry into the Gaza protest flotilla incident, Army Radio reported.
In a meeting of Labor party ministers, Eliezer commented that the current crisis was the result of an "unprecedented, shameful" failure of Israeli hasbara (public diplomacy), and an international inquiry would calm the harsh global criticism of Israel. "We have nothing to hide", he concluded.
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Defense Minister Ehud Barak responded, saying there was no cause to attack Israeli hasbara, as complicated scenarios such as the flotilla incident would always be hard to
defend and explain internationally.
Earlier Thursday, Finance Minister and security cabinet member Yuval Steinitz recommended that a parliamentary commission should investigate the flotilla raid.
Steinitz rejected the US offer to set up an investigation headed by an international judge, and with a US representative, possibly in an observer capacity.