Israeli Enquiry into Flotilla Attack not good enough
Posted on June 21, 2010 at 01:21 PM
The decision by the Israeli Government to establish an internal enquiry into the circumstances surrounding the Israeli hijacking of the flotilla of humanitarian aid ships bound for Gaza is a whitewash and totally unacceptable.
The ships were boarded in international waters by the Israeli army, 9 people were shot by the Israeli soldiers, the ships were compelled to go to an Israeli port, remain in Israel custody and their crews and aid activists deported.
These are the uncontested facts of Israeli involvement in an extremely serious incident. An internal Israeli enquiry into such an international incident with such profound Israeli involvement is quite simply ridiculous.
The international community must be centrally involved and in control of the enquiry. The United Nations, the Quartet or the European Union should be in charge.
The appointment of two international observers to the enquiry (one being Lord Trimble) does not make the enquiry an international enquiry. It merely gives it an international gloss.
Irish citizens on board the Rachel Corrie and the Irish owners were adversely affected by the actions of the Israeli government in seizing the ship bound for Gaza. Thus, Ireland has every reason to take a proactive role and insist on international control of the enquiry.
Under the Lisbon Treaty the citizens of the member states are also citizens of the European Union and there are new provisions on solidarity among member states.
The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Micheál Martin, and the Taoiseach, Brian Cowen, will meet their counterparts in the EU this week in Brussels. Ireland should insist that the EU uphold the rights of its citizens under international law.
The EU can no longer treat Israel as a fully fledged friendly trading partner and then stand idly by while Israel operates like a rogue state in international affairs. It is time to call halt.
