U.S. welcomes Israel's probe into aid flotilla attack
05:24 14/06/2010
MOSCOW, June 14 (RIA Novosti) - The U.S. welcomes Israel's decision to start an internal investigation into last month's deadly attack on a Gaza-bound humanitarian aid convoy in neutral waters, a White House spokesman said on Monday.
"The Government of Israel took an important step forward in proposing an independent public commission to investigate the circumstances of the recent tragic events on board the flotilla headed for Gaza," Robert Gibbs said in a statement.
Late on Sunday Israel rejected numerous calls to set up an international panel for investigation into the attack which left nine people dead and said it would carry out an internal investigation instead.
Iranian Nobel Prize laureate David Trimble and Canada's former Judge Advocate General of the Canadian Forces Ken Watkin were invited as international observers to monitor the investigation committee's activities.
The proposal is still to be approved by the government later on Monday.
Gibbs reiterated his country's support for "a prompt, impartial, credible, and transparent investigation."
"We believe that Israel, like any other nation, should be allowed to undertake an investigation into events that involve its national security," the statement reads. "But we will not prejudge the process or its outcome, and will await the conduct and findings of the investigation before drawing further conclusions."
Gibbs expressed hope that the Israeli investigation "will be carried out promptly" and its findings "will be presented publicly and will be presented to the international community."
Israeli commandos stormed on May 31 the six-ship Freedom Flotilla in international waters off the coast of the Hamas-run Gaza Strip as it carried some 10,000 tons of aid and up to 700 human rights activists to the Palestinian enclave. Nine activists were killed and dozens were injured. Hundreds were jailed and then deported.
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