Abbas: We agree with Security Council
Photo: AFP
Abbas: Turkel committee not up to UN standards
Palestinian president rejects Israeli committee to probe flotilla raid because it does not match agreed-upon Security Council format
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Monday that the format of a committee approved by
the Israeli government to probe the IDF flotilla raid "does not correspond" to that proposed by the Security Council of the UN.
"We fully agree with the inquiry as it was mentioned in the final declaration issued by the Security Council at its meeting," Abbas said after having lunch at the Elysee Palace with French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
"The proposal made today for the commission of inquiry does not match the request made by the Security Council," he said.
The Cabinet on Monday approved unanimously the establishment of an independent committee headed by retired Supreme Court Justice Jacob Turkel, with the participation of two international observers, to investigate the IDF raid on a flotilla to Gaza that resulted in the death of nine people on May 31.
"I am convinced that exposing the facts will prove that our aim was to conduct a defense operation according to the highest standards," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told his ministers.
During its meeting on June 1, the UN Security Council voted for "an impartial, credible and transparent probe in line with international standards".
