JERUSALEM: Israel’s cabinet on Monday backed the creation of an internal committee to probe its deadly raid on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla, in a move swiftly dismissed by Turkey.
The Israeli committee, which will include two foreign observers, was formed to conduct an investigation into the legal aspects of the operation in which Israeli commandos killed nine Turkish activists and wounded many more.
But Ankara slammed the move, saying it did not believe the Israeli commission would carry out an "impartial" probe of the pre-dawn attack.
"We have no trust at all that Israel, a country that has carried out such an attack on a civilian convoy in international waters, will conduct an impartial investigation," Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told reporters in Ankara.
"To have a defendant acting simultaneously as both prosecutor and judge is not compatible with any principle of law," he said, warning that without an independent inquiry, Turkey would review its ties with Israel.
Hours after the announcement, Israel’s cabinet voted unanimously to back the make-up and mandate of the inquiry committee.
The panel will be headed by retired supreme court judge Yaakov Tirkel, and will include two international observers: Irish Nobel Peace Prize winner David Trimble and Ken Watkin, former judge advocate general of the Canadian military.
But it was not clear what powers Trimble and Watkin would have, and a statement from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said they would not able "to vote in relation to the proceedings and conclusions of the commission."
The two could also be denied access to information if it was "almost certain to cause substantial harm to national security or to the state’s foreign relations."
Netanyahu’s office said the commission would examine the legality under international law of Israel’s naval blockade and of actions taken to enforce it, as well as the actions of those who organized and took part in the flotilla.
The inquiry will run alongside another military probe into the events of May 31, which began last week under retired brigadier general Giora Eiland.
That investigation is set to end by July 4 at the latest, after which its results will be submitted to the so-called Tirkel Commission.
Among those set to testify before the committee were Netanyahu and senior ministers from the Forum of Seven, Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi, and top brass of military intelligence, the Mossad spy agency and the Shabak internal security service, media reports said.
Israel has made clear the committee will not hear any direct testimony from troops involved in the raid.
Netanyahu told cabinet members on Monday the committee would also seek "to give a credible and convincing answer" to the international community.
"I am convinced that uncovering the facts will prove that Israel acted in an appropriately defensive fashion in accordance with the highest standards. The committee will clarify to the world that Israel acts according to law with responsibility and full transparency," he said.
Washington called the move an "important step forward," but stressed the inquiry should be carried out promptly and its findings "presented publicly" to the international community.
Canada also welcomed the announcement, while expressing sympathy with Israel’s desire to prevent ships carrying arms from breaking the blockade.
But Hamas, the Islamist movement ruling the tiny coastal Strip, said Israel’s continuing refusal to accept an international probe proved its guilt.
"By refusing the formation of an international committee to investigate the massacre, Israel is condemning itself," Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhum told AFP.
Israel is facing mounting pressure to end the blockade, imposed in 2006 after Gaza militants seized an Israeli soldier in a cross-border raid.
In Luxembourg, an EU diplomat on Monday said Israel had indicated it was ready to ease the blockade significantly.
"The indications we are getting from Israel is that they are willing to go from a positive to a negative list," the diplomat said, referring to a change from a list of permitted items to a list of banned items, with many more previously banned goods allowed in.
But Israeli foreign ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor denied such a move had been agreed, telling AFP: "These are ideas that we are discussing.
"Of course Israel is ready to let through more goods, but we have to discuss which goods go on the list."
