Israel is both Accused and Judge with American Blessing

15 June 2010
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu did well to reject Israeli Premier Binyamin Netanyahu's decision to establish an internal investigation of the Israeli commano massacre on the freedom flotilla seeking to break the blockade imposed on the Gaza Strip.

Israel, as he said in his reaction to the establishment of this commission, cannot be a judge and an attorney general at the same time. It cannot then claim that its internal investigative committee is impartial or that its activities would take place according to international standards.

It is shameful that the US Administration has gone along with this Israeli move, which totally contradicts the Security Council's presidential statement calling for the establishment of an independent and impartial committee to freely investigate the circumstances of the atrocity without interference from the Israeli Government.

The committee established by Netanyahu, chaired by a conservative religious judge, will not interview any of the Israeli soldiers who actually stormed the Marmara ship, killed nine of its activists, and wounded dozens more. It can only call Israeli Chief of Staff Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi before it.

We are afraid that the establishment of this committee and America's support for it was the result of a secret "deal" by which Israel would offer to ease the blockade on the Gaza Strip in return for not undergoing an enquiry by a properly established and legitimate international commission.

Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, the Special envoy of the International Quartet Committee, recently met Netanyahu on at least three occasions and we would not be surprised if he was the real "architect" of this deal and had acted as a go-between with the US to broker an agreement.

The committee proposed by the Israelis includes two world figures known for their independence: William David Tremble, the Irish Nobel Peace laureate, and Canadian Attorney Kenneth Watkin. We are certainly not against their participation but we stand firmly against the fact that the committee is to be chaired by an Israeli judge and that its jurisdiction is defined by the Israeli Government to reach the conclusions it wants and avoid the conclusions it does not want.

If the rules of the International Football Federation do not allow a referee to be from either of the two countries playing against each other - and, note, that is just for a football game - why is this simple and obvious standard of fairness violated when it comes to a matter of extreme importance like the investigation of a massacre committed against innocent activists in international waters.

Turkey's rejection of Israel's stance should be supported by all countries of the world, particularly the Arab countries, because the time when Israel used to act as if it were above the international law and its war crimes enjoyed the protection of the American veto in the United Nations has gone and should never return.

We are confident that this American-Israeli attempt to circumvent international legislation and Security Council recommendations will not be successful, not because of the firm Turkish position, but because of the serious diplomatic repercussions that would ensue, seriously affecting Turkish-Israeli relations as well as Turkey's relationship with the United States and the other allied Western countries.

Turkey has been an asset to the West for many years now. It joined NATO four years after the establishment of Israel and was involved in all NATO's wars. Turkey sent forces to Afghanistan, joined the United States in the Kuwait liberation war, and played a major role on the side of the West during the Cold War in confronting Communist expansion.

Israel, on the other hand, was, and still is, a heavy burden on the West both morally and financially. It has become one of the main causes of Islamist threats to the West's security and stability, jeopardizing the safety of western troops and citizens. The West's unfair bias towards Israel, and its apparent lack of respect for the Turkish position is nothing short of a disgrace in the history of the West and suggests an unpalatable lack of gratitude for Turkey's past favours.