Israel rejects UN proposal for joint Gaza flotilla probe with U.S. and Turkey

             Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that he has rejected a proposal raised by United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, who suggested the establishment of an international commission of inquiry into the raid on the Gaza-bound aid flotilla a week ago. Nine Turkish activists were killed last Monday when Israeli navy commandos raided a Gaza-bound aid ship carrying hundreds of peace activists, who were caught on film attacking the soldiers as they boarded the ship. The ship, the Mavi Marmara, was a part of flotilla aiming to bring aid to Gaza despite a three-year Israeli blockade. The event has sparked a wave of global criticism against Israel, and spawned countless calls to investigate the tragic event. The head of the committee would be former New Zealand prime minister Geoffrey Palmer, an expert on maritime law. Committee members would include representatives from the United States, Turkey and Israel. Netanyahu briefed his cabinet ministers on the overnight conversation between Ban and himself, telling them that "I told him that the investigation of the facts must be carried out responsibly and objectively." "We need to consider the issue carefully and level-headedly, while maintaining Israel's national interests as well as those of the Israel Defense Forces," he continued. The prime minister told Ban that some of the passengers aboard the Marmara were members of an extremist terror-backing Turkish organization. He stressed that any investigation into the event should determine who organized these extremists, who funded them and supplied them with equipment, and how they ended up on the ship. Netanyahu also discussed the Israeli blockade on Gaza, saying that discussions surrounding the easing of the blockade had begun before the flotilla ever set sail. "Our desire is to facilitate the transfer of civilian and humanitarian goods to the civilian population, while preventing the transfer of weapons and warfare materials." He added that "the provocative flotilla will not stop us from discussing this, and we are considering proposals on the topic made by friendly nations." The prime minister further told the cabinet that he spoke with U.S. Vice President Joe Biden over the weekend as well as the prime ministers of Greece and Bulgaria. (17,44)