Israel military investigating deadly flotilla raid

[June 08, 2010]  JERUSALEM (AP) -- The Israeli military said Tuesday it has set up an internal team of experts to examine last week's deadly commando raid on a Gaza-bound flotilla, while the government sought a broader formula to meet mounting international calls for an impartial probe into the incident.

The military said the team would review various internal investigations already going on and expects some findings by July 4.

Nine pro-Palestinian activists -- eight Turks and an American-Turkish teenager -- were killed after a squad of naval commandos stormed a ship trying to breach Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip. Israel says its soldiers began shooting only after a mob of activists attacked them.

But the activists and their supporters claimed Israeli commandos needlessly opened fire.

The incident triggered a storm of criticism of Israel, which has rejected calls for an international probe, saying it would be biased against the Jewish state.

The international community questions the ability of the Israeli military to credibly investigate its own actions, especially after it it only acknowledged occasional mistakes in its much-criticized war in Gaza 18 months ago.

A U.N.-appointed panel headed by veteran war crimes prosecutor Richard Goldstone later accused Israel of war crimes in that offensive, a charge Israel rejects. Israel's experience with the Goldstone commission has only reinforced its resistance to a U.N.-led investigation of the flotilla raid.

Senior Israeli Cabinet ministers on Monday proposed establishing a commission of Israeli jurists, joined by foreign observers, whose mandate would be to examine the legality of the Gaza blockade and the commandos' conduct.

The proposal has been mooted to U.S. and international officials to see if it meets their criteria for an impartial probe, government officials said. They spoke on condition of anonymity because the plan has not been officially announced.

The U.S. Embassy had no comment on the details of the proposal.

Critics in Israel have faulted the proposal, saying it doesn't empower commission members to investigate the political decision-making that led up to the raid or intelligence failures ahead of the deadly confrontation. In addition, soldiers would not be questioned.

[Associated Press; By AMY TEIBEL]

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