Alternative News and Political Opinion in video and print.
Be Sure to Visit All 3 World United Websites for a different perspective in the World of News, Music and Awakening Topics.
Their aim is to enter the beseiged Palestinian terrirtory with as many Egyptian volunteers as possible. This in order to highlight that Egypt's economic blockade of Gaza continues and must end following the fall of the Mubarak regime.
The activists make it to the town of Al Arish, 50 km from the Gaza border, where they're greeted by local leaders who promise they'll supply hundreds of volunteers to show solidarity with the suffering of Gazans. The leaders call for Egypt to revoke its peace treaty with Israel and for former President Husni Mubarak to be prosecuted.
We've arrived in Al Arish to a good welcome. But we did have to pass through about 12 checkpoints and the army tried to persuade us not to come. But now the people here are promising to accompany the convoy to Gaza.
The morning of the planned march to the Gaza border starts with much optimism. But things soon turn nasty. A small group of suspected pro-Mubarak agitators accuse the activists of being spies and even Israelis. They say Egyptians should sort their own problems out before they worry about anybody else. Our crew is forced to stop filming, but soon afterwards we are attacked with shovels and forced to beat a hasty retreat.
Eventually the activists make it to the Gaza border but with severely depleted numbers. Most of the Egyptians have been scared off from joining their protest march to the Rafah border crossing. After 5 hours they are allowed through with one bag of cement. They are the first peace delegation to enter Gaza since the Egyptian revolution.
But their breakthrough is only symbolic. It will take a mass mobilization from the Egyptian people themselves to effect real change.
The data, released by the bureau on Saturday, indicates that the Israeli regime started over 114 settlement units during the 10-month construction freeze Tel Aviv announced in November 2009, Ha'aretz newspaper reported.
The 114 units, the construction of which began during the so-called freeze have now been completed, as well as over 1,175 other units that started constructing before the partial moratorium, which excluded al-Quds (Jerusalem).
The data also reveals that construction of over 427 housing units has begun since the expiration of the freeze in late September.
The figures released by the Central Bureau of Statistics are, however, based on partial information and do not cover a reportedly dramatic rise in illegal construction in West Bank outposts, which are not officially documented.
It does not include caravans and tents that are often placed in illegal outposts in order to settle in the land, either.
Israel's insistence to resume its West Bank settlement construction projects -- deemed by the international community as illegal -- prompted Palestinian Authority negotiators to walk out a new round of US-sponsored direct talks.
Palestinians have repeatedly voiced concern about Israel's efforts to wipe out the Islamic and Palestinian identity of the occupied territories, East al-Quds in particular, to effectively render the establishment of a future Palestinian state unfeasible.
The Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) has slammed the US for vetoing a UN Security Council resolution condemning illegal settlement activities by Israel on occupied Palestinian territories.
"It is a devastating blow to the credibility of international efforts to resume the peace process," OIC said in a statement on Saturday.
The Islamic organization with 57 member states said that the US move “will only encourage Israel to continue its violations.”
The group also urged the Israeli regime to end its settlement activities in the West Bank and East al-Quds (Jerusalem).
Despite the support of the Security Council's 14 other members of the Arab-backed resolution, the United States used its veto power to block the resolution.
Iran also joined other states to condemn the US for blocking the resolution.
“The resolution was approved by the permanent members of the Security Council (except the US), the member states of the Organization of the Islamic Conference and other UN members,” said Iran's ambassador to the UN Mohammad Khazaei late Friday after the council wrapped up voting on the resolution.
However, the single “no” vote by the US could annul the unanimous “yes” vote by the other fourteen members, the Iranian official added.
“The fact that a single vote can revoke the vote of the majority shows the Security Council is structurally weak,” Khazaei noted.
“This US move once again undermined the credibility of the Security Council,” the top Iranian diplomat went on to say.
Fourteen countries on Friday voted in favor of a resolution condemning Israeli settlement activity in the West Bank and East al-Quds, but US Ambassador to the UN Susan Rice vetoed it.
“Such cases show the Security Council cannot guarantee to safeguard people's lives and possessions,” he noted.
The United Nation has repeatedly condemned Israel for defying international calls to halt its settlement construction activities.
Palestinians view Israel's unrelenting settlement construction activities as a major hurdle smothering their efforts to establish an independent state on the territories Israel captured in the 1967 Six-Day War.
According to data from the Palestinian Information Center, Israel has demolished 995 Palestinian homes and displaced 5,783 individuals -- among them 3,109 children -- in the occupied al-Quds since the start of 2000.
The US has vetoed a UN Security Council resolution that would have condemned Israeli settlements as "illegal" and called for an immediate halt to all settlement building.
All 14 other Security Council members voted in favour of the resolution, which was backed by the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), on Friday.
Mark Lyall Grant, the British ambassador to the UN, speaking on behalf of his country, France and Germany, condemned Israeli settlements in the West Bank. "They are illegal under international law," he said.
He added that the European Union's three biggest nations hope that an independent state of Palestine will join the UN as a new member state by September 2011.
The veto by the administration of Barack Obama, the US president, is certain to anger Arab countries and Palestinian supporters around the world.
An abstention would have angered the Israelis, the closest ally of Washington in the region, as well as Democratic and Republican supporters of Israel in the US Congress.
The UN says it opposes settlements in principal, but says that the UN Security Council is not the appropriate venue for resolving the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Susan Rice, the US ambassador to the UN, told council members that the veto "should not be misunderstood to mean we support settlement activity".
"While we agree with our fellow council members and indeed with the wider world about the folly and illegitimacy of continued Israeli settlement activity, we think it unwise for this council to attempt to resolve the core issues that divide Israelis and Palestinians," she said.
Palestinians said the veto is counterproductive to the peace process and will help Israel maintain illegal buildings.
"The American veto does not serve the peace process and encourages Israel to continue settlements, and to escape the
obligations of the peace process," said Nabil Abu Rdainah, a close aide to Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president.
Al Jazeera's Cal Perry in Ramallah, West Bank, said the decision is "not going down well in the occupied West Bank".
"People are really wondering when some action is going to be taken," he said.
"People here are tired of a lack of a peace process; they are tired that the two sides are not talking; they are tired that they continue to hear, especially the US president Barack Obama continue to say that human dignity cannot be denied.
"He's been saying it all throughout the protests in Eqypt; he's been saying it all through the protests that continue to sweep across the region and the Palestinian people are saying: 'What about us?'"
PA pressured
Earlier, the Obama administration had tried to exert pressure on the Palestinian Authority to drop the UN resolution in exchange for other measures, but this was rejected by the authoirty.
The decision to back the resolution was made unanimously by the PLO's executive and the central committee of Abbas's Fatah movement on Friday, at a meeting to discuss Obama's appeal to Abbas by telephone a day earlier.
"The Palestinian leadership has decided to proceed to the UN Security Council, to pressure Israel to halt settlement activities. The decision was taken despite American pressure," said Wasel Abu Yousef, a PLO executive member.
Obama, who had said Israeli settlements in territories it captured in a 1967 war are illegal and unhelpful to the peace process, has argued that the resolution could shatter hopes of reviving the stalled talks.
In a 50-minute phone call on Thursday, he asked Abbas to drop the resolution and settle for a non-binding statement condemning settlement expansion, Palestinian officials said.
'Goldstone 2'
"Caving in to American pressure and withdrawing the resolution will constitute Goldstone 2," said a Palestinian official, speaking on terms of anonymity before the meeting.
He was referring to the wave of protest in October 2009 accusing Abbas of caving in to US pressure by agreeing not to submit for adoption a UN report that accused Israel and Hamas of war crimes during the invasion of Gaza two years ago.
Abbas maintains he insisted on submitting the report.
The Palestinians say continued building flouts the internationally-backed peace plan that will permit them to create a viable, contiguous state on the 1967 land, after a treaty with Israel to end its occupation and 62 years of conflict.
Israel says this is an excuse for avoiding peace talks and a precondition never demanded before during 17 years of negotiations, which has so far produced no agreement.
The diplomatic standoff is complicated by the effects of Middle East turmoil on the Arab League, whose members backed the resolution.
Egypt, a dominant member, and Tunisia are preoccupied with their transitions from deposed autocracies, and protests are flaring in Libya, Yemen and Bahrain.
Washington is trying to revive peace talks stalled since September over Israel's refusal to extend a moratorium on settlement building and Abbas's refusal to negotiate further until the Israelis freeze the illegal buildings.
'Nothing to lose'
Obama initially pressured Israel to maintain the moratorium only to relent in the run-up to the 2010 US mid-term elections to avoid, some analysts said, alienating key voters.
Instead of the resolution, Obama told Abbas he would back a fact-finding visit by a delegation of the UN Security Council to the occupied territories.
One PLO official said the leadership was determined not to cave in "even if our decision leads to a diplomatic crisis with the Americans", adding: "Now we have nothing to lose."
Since 2000, 14 Security Council resolutions have been vetoed by one or more of the five permanent members - Britain, China, France, Russia and the US. Of those, 10 were US vetoes, nine of them related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon's spokesman -- Martin Nesirky -- has laid down the rules in regards to what the Secretary General did -- and did not -- want to talk about.
Secretary General Ban spoke on the latest developments in the Midle East - most notably in Bahrain -- calling for sincere dialogue between the people and their governments. He did not -- however -- touch upon the pending resolution in the Security Council condemning Israeli settlements.
At noon -- Press TV asked the spokesman -- Nesirky -- about the resolution -- which will be voted upon on Friday -- and got this response.
American UN Ambassador Susan Rice has reportedly offered Palestinian diplomats a deal where the U.S. would agree to a statement affirming the Security Council "does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlement activity."
The Palestinian Authrority has rejected the American offer -- and a vote on a stronger -- binding resolution could come soon.
American officals have said repeatedly that the Security Council is not the place to hash out the issue -- and an American veto on the stronger measure is likely.
Critics are having a field day with the American flip flop -- including former American U.N. Ambassador John Bolton -- who questions President Obama's handling of the Egyptian revolution and other developments in the Middle East.
By close of business at the UN on Friday -- compromise statements were reportedly delivered to Arab diplomats at the UN -- with Security Council President Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti of Brazil advocating a stronger "presidential statement."
It is not known how that statement was recieved -- or if it will be voted on in the Security Council.
If nothing changes overnight -- however -- most signs point to yet another American veto
Protected by Tel Aviv's US-equipped army, Israeli settlers terrorize, harass and murder Palestinians on a daily basis without fear of punishment. (File photo)
Thousands of US citizens, American groups and organizations have called on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to pass a resolution against Israeli war crimes in Palestine.
The move comes as the UNSC prepares to debate a resolution on illegal Israeli settlement activities in the West Bank and East al-Quds (Jerusalem).
The draft Security Council resolution reaffirms that Israel's settlements "are illegal and constitute a major obstacle to the achievement of a just, lasting and comprehensive peace" in the Middle East.
However, the administration of US President Barak Obama has threatened to use its veto power to once again protect Israel from abiding by international law.
"New York is not the place to resolve the longstanding conflict and outstanding issues between the Israelis and the Palestinians," US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had said in January, in a statement which almost certainly affirms Obama's plan to veto the vote.
On Wednesday, political activist Richard Grave, told IRNA that America's credibility in the world is threatened by its constant protection of Israel.
In a petition, launched by the US Campaign to End Israeli Occupation, the signatories warned that a veto would only damage Obama's reliability, as it would clearly contradict what the US president has been saying for the past 19 months.
Since his rise to power in 2009, Obama has made a settlement freeze the focus of his attempts to resurrect direct Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.
The signatories also reminded the US president of his 2009 speech in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, where he said the United States does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements and urged Israel to stop its construction activity.
Tel Aviv's continued construction in the occupied West Bank and East al-Quds is seen as the main bone of contention between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, and is blamed for derailing several rounds of talks between the two sides.
Apart from that, according to rights groups, Israeli settlers terrorize, harass and kill Palestinians on a daily basis without fear of recrimination or legal ramifications.
For example, on January 27, an Israeli settler shot dead Odai Qadous, an 18-year-old shepherd tending his flock of sheep in the West Bank. And on the very next day, more than 100 Israeli settlers stormed the same region, fatally shooting 15-year-old Yousef Ekhlil.
The tragic deaths serve as a stark reminder that the half million Israeli settlers, protected by the US-equipped Israeli army, are responsible for some of the most egregious human rights abuses suffered by Palestinians every day, the petition read.
Despite international criticisms, the US, a staunch ally to Israel, has, so far, vetoed over 40 anti-Israeli resolutions sought by the council since 1972.
Since 2004, Washington has prevented the adoption of four other resolutions that called for Tel Aviv to halt its operations in the Gaza Strip.
Analysts believe that Washington's unwavering support for Tel Aviv has made the United States an accomplice in Israeli actions.
The draft resolution, sponsored by more than 120 countries, was put to the Security Council in order to place the issue of settlements before the UN group's jurisdiction. However, the draft resolution was not brought to a vote. Iran's ambassador to the U.N. says the draft provides a good way to measure the resolve of the Council -- especially the
Permanent 5.
More than 120 nations signed on in support of this draft resolution. Notably absent from that list -- however -- are Western countries such as the United States -- the United Kingdom -- France -- Germany and Canada. Diplomats from those countries -- however - condemned Israeli settlement building in their statements before the Security Council today.
U.S. Ambassador Rosemary DeCarlo called Israeli settlement construction "corrosive" to the peace-making process. She did -- however -- continue to voice her support for a two - state solution. The Lebanese ambassador says it shouldn't be that hard for the U.S. to agree to the statement -- since there's nothing in it that America hasn't agreed to before.
Security council members that have already signed on to the statement also include Brazil -- India and South Africa. The Brazilian ambassador says that the two state solution that the US is pushing might be impossible to implement -- considering the rate at which Israeli construction is progressing. The Palestinian Permanent Observer representative says he'd like to see a real resolution written up and voted on immediately -- but he's willing to work with Security Council members on the issue.
Many insiders say the real statement may be voted on later this month -- while others say the vote could be further away.
But some ambassadors tell Press TV that there are still adjustments to be made in the language of the statement before it can be voted on.
Arab nations are set to formally demand that the United Nations Security Council to condemn Israel over its illegal settlement constructions.
Arab envoys at the UN have decided to formally register a draft resolution against Tel Aviv at the Security Council before the end of Tuesday, Tunisia's UN envoy Ghazi Jomaa told reporters on Monday, AFP reported.
Jomaa, who also chairs the Arab group, said that the draft calls for a complete freeze on Israel's illegal construction activities on occupied Palestinian territories.
The Security Council is to discuss the Middle East and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on Wednesday.
Palestinian and other Arab negotiators are reportedly trying to persuade the United States not to veto the resolution.
The United States traditionally vetoes resolutions which condemn Israel.
Lebanon's envoy Nawaf Salam said more meetings would be held to decide when to press for a vote.
The Palestinians want the resolution passed to put pressure on Tel Aviv its illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank .
The 15-member Security Council has repeatedly condemned Israeli settlement activities in the past.
Turkey's prime minister has called for the ousting of Avigdor Lieberman before the far-right Israeli foreign minister causes more political waves.
Speaking to the Qatar-based news channel Al Jazeera on Wednesday, Turkish Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Lieberman constituted “a problem at the head of Israel.”
Tel Aviv was obliged to “rid” itself of the official whom, Erdogan said, was in a course of creating further political problems.
Relations between Turkey and Israel took record damage after Tel Aviv's May 31 violent attack on an Ankara-backed aid convoy, known as Freedom Flotilla.
The commando assault on the fleet, which had set sail for the Gaza Strip, killed nine Turkish activists and injured around 50 others, causing international furor.
The ties had already been soured by Israel's December 2008-January 2009 war on the Gaza Strip, which killed more than 1,400 Palestinians.
In December, Lieberman said Israel would never apologize to Turkey over the deadly convoy attack.
It was “a cheek” for Ankara to request an apology before normalizing ties with Tel Aviv, he said.
Ankara has also asked Tel Aviv to compensate the families of the human rights campaigners who were killed in the May incident.
Turkey asserts that Israel cannot run away from the murder of nine Turkish Gaza-bound activists and repeats its demand for apology and compensation.
On Saturday, the country's Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said, “Nothing can cover up” the deadly act of aggression, the Associated Press reported.
The victims died and 50 others were injured on May 31 during an Israeli commando attack on the Freedom Flotilla, an international Turkish-backed aid convoy, which had set sail to break Tel Aviv's siege of the Gaza Strip.
The fleet was carrying approximately 750 human rights activists and around 10,000 tons of construction material, medical equipment and school supplies.
The activists were subsequently expelled and the cargos were transferred to the Israeli port of Ashdod to the south of Tel Aviv. Reports, meanwhile, pointed to Israeli forces' appropriating and misusing the activists' personal belongings.
Davutoglu accused Israel of not responding to Turkey's overtures, apparently referring to Ankara's several instances of offering Tel Aviv the opportunity to make amends for the assault.
The remarks came on the eve of the return of Mavi Marmara, the lead ship of the attacked convoy.
The vessel, which is expected to carry the survivors of the attack, is expected to be received in a deserving ceremony, attended by thousands, Israeli website Ynetnews reported.
Arab countries will submit a draft resolution to the UN, protesting Israel's defiant construction of illegal settlements on the occupied Palestinian lands.
Nabil Shaath, a Palestinian negotiator said on Saturday that the draft would be sent to the United Nations Security Council or the world body's General Assembly, should it face a US veto in the former, Xinhua reported.
Both UN branches can impose sanctions on the parties, who refuse to abide by the organization's resolutions, he said.
Shaath, however, claimed that it is “difficult” for the United States to stand in the way of the resolution "after it has publicly opposed the settlement."
The UN and the European Union have underlined the illegality of the settler units under the international law.
Tel Aviv refused to extend a partial freeze on the settlement activities in late September, thus stalling direct talks with the Palestinian Authority (PA) that had resumed earlier that month in the United States.
The Palestinians say that the settlement construction is being carried out to prevent the establishment of an independent Palestinian state.
Also on Saturday, Salam Feyadh, the PA's caretaker prime minister denied that the Palestinians could unilaterally declare a state -- a speculation which is currently being promoted through a media fanfare, AFP reported.
"What we're looking for... is a state of Palestine, we're not looking for yet another declaration of statehood," he said.
"We're not looking for a Mickey Mouse state, we're not looking for some form of self-rule, we're looking for a sovereign state of Palestine, where we Palestinians can live as free people."
Defending Tel Aviv's deadly attack on the Gaza-bound flotilla, Israel's army chief has vowed to block future aid shipments heading toward the besieged strip.
"If they come, they will be stopped by our defensive shield," Lieutenant-General Gabi Ashkenazi said in his address to the audience at the naval graduation ceremony in Haifa on Wednesday, Haaretz reported.
"There is no doubt that you will manage to stop the nearing threats," he added a few hours after he defended Israeli commandos' deadly attack on the Gaza aid flotilla in the internal panel to substantiate the legality of the onslaught.
The late May attack left nine Turkish activists dead and dozens more injured.
While the activists, onboard the aid ships, say Israeli commandos opened fire upon boarding the Mavi Marmara, Ashkenazi said Israeli forces did not use excessive force and acted proportionally.
Israel's army chief also rejected Turkish charges that some of the victims had been shot "execution-style" at point-blank, saying that shots had been fired at close range as part of a life and death struggle.
Turkish post-mortem examinations have revealed that a total of 30 bullets were found in the bodies of the nine dead activists. One of the activists had been shot four times in the head.
Ashkenazi, who has taken responsibility for the military's actions, is the only military officer scheduled to appear before the inquiry. He was the third senior figure to address Israel's self-ordered Tirkel commission after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak.
The attack was widely condemned by the international community.
Turkey says Israel must take full responsibility for the killing of nine peace activists during an attack in May on an aid flotilla bound for Gaza.
"Nobody can lay on the responsibility of killing civilians in international waters onto somebody else," AFP quoted Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu as saying on Tuesday.
"We have a very clear situation. Israel has killed nine civilians in international waters. Before anything else, they should take responsibility for this... Turkey has absolutely no responsibility in the incident," Davutoglu added.
On May 31, the Israeli military attacked the Gaza-bound Freedom Flotilla of international aid in the Mediterranean Sea, in international waters, killing nine activists onboard the Turkish-flagged M.V. Mavi Marmara and injuring about 50 other people who were part of the team on the six-ship convoy.
The Turkish foreign minister's remarks came after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended the attack on Tuesday alleging that organizations sponsoring the Gaza Freedom Flotilla "were preparing for armed conflict to embarrass Israel."
Netanyahu said Turkey had ignored repeated warnings and appeals "at the highest level" to stop the flotilla.
The United Nations named a panel in August to look into the deadly incident.
Israel threatened on Tuesday to pull out of a UN investigation as the international probe seeks to question Israeli soldiers.
The Turkish foreign minister expressed his confidence in the UN panel which will investigate the ship, and said that the panel will surely find those who are responsible for the deaths.
"We trust the work of the international commission and believe it will find those responsible in line with international law," he said.
Israel has threatened to pull out of a UN investigation into its May 31 attack on a Gaza-bound aid convoy as the international probe seeks to question Israeli soldiers.
Despite Israeli efforts to appease the global enrage over the death of nine Turkish activists onboard the Gaza Freedom Flotilla, the United Nations named its own panel in August to look into the deadly incident.
Israel agreed to participate in the UN probe but has opposed to have its military forces involved in the fatal onslaught grilled over the attack which was carried out in international waters.
Tel Aviv insisted that Israel's agreement was conditional on the panel relying on reports from Israel's own military inquiry, not testimony from soldiers.
But the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Monday stated that there was no agreement that the panel would refrain from calling Israeli soldiers to testify. "No, there was no such agreement behind the scenes," Ban stressed.
This seriously irked Israeli prime minister, and prompted his office to issue a harsh statement which vehemently ruled out Israel's cooperation with or participation in "any panel that seeks to interrogate Israeli soldiers," Jerusalem Post quoted the statement as saying.
The response came a day after Netanyahu's testimony before an internal inquiry panel where he insisted the Israeli army "acted in accordance with international law."
Israel's self-ordered Tirkel commission is not authorized to probe the decision-making process which led up to the operation, nor does it have the authority to question troops involved in the fatal attack.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan says the relationship with Israel depends on the acceptance of Ankara's conditions.
"Our relationship with Israel is closely linked to our conditions and what we asked of them. The future will be determined in the light of that," the Jordanian newspaper Al-Arab al-Youm quoted him as saying on Wednesday.
"We will not keep silent, and we won't stand idly following an assault on our rights and the breach of international laws," Erdogan told the newspaper in an interview.
Erdogan was referring to Israel's attack on the Gaza-bound Turkish vessel Mavi Marmara. \ The Israeli military attacked the Freedom Flotilla in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea on May 31, killing nine Turkish citizens on board the Turkish-flagged M.V. Mavi Marmara and injuring about 50 other people who were part of the team on the six-ship convoy.
The Flotilla was carrying humanitarian assistance for the longsuffering people of Gaza.
"The policy practiced by Israel, especially after the attack on Gaza and the continued policy of settlement and finally the brutal attack on the Freedom Flotilla proved that Israel will not achieve peace and security via its policy of occupation and expansion," he told the paper.
He added that peace in the Middle East will not be achieved "without security and freedom, and life with dignity and humanity for the Palestinian people."
Erdogan has also demanded that Israel apologize for the attack on the Freedom Flotilla, calling it an inhuman act. "Simply we can call it as an act of piracy and a raid," he said.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon says that a committee will begin its investigation of Israel's deadly attack against a Gaza-bound aid convoy this month.
The panel will begin its work on August 10, three months after the May 31 assault, in which nine Turkish peace activists of the Gaza Freedom Flotilla were killed by Israeli commandos in international waters.
"I sincerely hope that this will greatly, positively contribute to the peace process as well as improvement of relations between Israel and Turkey," Ban said on Monday.
The UN chief added that the panel would submit the first progress report by mid September.
The panel will be led by former New Zealand Prime Minister Geoffrey Palmer as the chairman, and outgoing Colombian President Alvaro Uribe as the vice chairman.
A Turkish and an Israeli were also in the panel.
Meanwhile, Israel announced on Monday that it would cooperate with the UN committee, despite its earlier opposition.
The Tel Aviv regime had rejected calls for an international independent investigation into the commando assault, and launched an internal probe of the attack.
Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak has expressed concern over Turkey's appointment of its new secret service chief whom he called a "supporter" of Iran.
According to AFP, the Turkish official, Hakan Fidan, 42, has been appointed to head the National Intelligence Organization, known by its Turkish acronym MIT, on May 27 after serving as undersecretary for foreign affairs to the prime minister and representing Turkey at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
The latter position placed him at the forefront of Turkey's efforts to resolve the international standoff over Iran's nuclear program, according to the Turkish press.
"Turkey is a friendly country, a strategic ally, but the nomination in recent weeks of a new chief of the Turkish secret services who is a supporter of Iran worries us," he told in a private meeting of his center-left Labor party.
Barak, in a recording of his remarks broadcast by Army Radio on Sunday, claimed that the appointment could result in "the Iranians having access to secret information."
Israel is annoyed by its erstwhile strategic partner's efforts to solve Iran's nuclear issue through diplomatic efforts, especially a declaration it signed with Iran and Brazil in May that would have seen Iran ship 1,200 kg of its low-enriched uranium to Turkey in exchange for fuel for the medical research reactor in Tehran.
Turkish-Israeli relations plunged to an all-time low and their ties are effectively frozen following the deadly May 31 Israeli raid on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla in which naval commandos shot dead nine Turkish activists, one of whom was also a US citizen.
The United Nations Human Rights Council has appointed a team to investigate Israel's deadly raid on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla in May.
The team will consist of three independent experts: Sir Desmond de Silva of Britain, Karl Hudson-Phillips of Trinidad and Tobago, and Mary Shanth Dairiam of Malaysia, the UN body said on Friday.
The council voted to establish the inquiry in June, after nine Turkish activists were killed when Israeli troops boarded the Mavi Marmara, the largest ship in the flotilla.
"The expertise, independence and impartiality of the members of the mission will be devoted to clarifying the events which took place that day and their legality," Sihasak Phuangketkeow, the Thai ambassador to the UN, said.
Thailand currently holds the presidency of the human rights council.
De Silva is a former chief war crimes prosecutor at the UN-backed special court for Sierra Leone. Hudson-Phillips is a former judge at the International Criminal Court and Shanthi Dairiam is a women's rights activist.
No Israeli co-operation
The team is expected to travel to Israel, Turkey and Gaza next month to interview witnesses and gather information. It will report its findings in September.
It is unclear whether Israel will co-operate with the inquiry; Israel has said that its soldiers acted in self-defence, and has rejected calls for an international investigation.
An internal Israeli army inquiry completed earlier this month recommended no disciplinary action against senior officers, and concluded that "the use of live fire was justified" on board the Mavi Marmara.
A separate civilian panel, chaired by former Israeli supreme court judge Jacob Turkel, is also investigating the raid.
Israel's defence ministry announced on Friday that it would return seven ships from the flotilla to Turkey, including the Mavi Marmara.
The ships have been sitting in Israel's Ashdod and Haifa ports for more than a month, despite repeated requests from the Turkish embassy that the ships be returned.
The ministry said it will co-ordinate with Turkey to arrange for the return of the ships, a process which could take several weeks.
Turks have held anti-US demonstrations in Antalya, protesting at the berthing of an American aircraft-carrier in the Mediterranean off the southern city.
The rallies were launched on Wednesday, when the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower entered the coast, lasting, according to local outlets, through Thursday, the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reported.
Local authorities said the 305-meter-long vessel is carrying 5,000 personnel and would depart from the city on Friday. Its next port of call is yet to be known.
The participants shouted "America get out of Turkey" and "we do not want the criminal US in our country."
Some protesters reportedly pelted the servicemen with eggs.
The developments followed Washington's refusal to condemn Israel's recent bloodshed in international waters of nine Turkish activists on board an Ankara-backed humanitarian convoy.
South Africa's Closing Argument Against Israel for Genocide at the ICJ
Freedom
Welcome!
World United News offers an honest approach to alternative news and opinion with back up links for readers to investigate information for themselves.
This blog also includes a number of important video playlists that cover specific topics, rare documentaries, debate, opinion, and viewpoints.
Please feel free to share anything that resonates with you or that you feel would benefit those in your circles. Comments are always welcome. ~Stewart Brennan~
I'm not in phase with what mainstream mediums have to offer, nor do I like being lied to. So I decided to build my own World where creativity, music, and truth prevail. Therefore I’m a photographer, Writer, Video Producer, News Reporter, Music Promoter, Radio DJ, Poet, Activist, Critical Thinker, and Problem Solver. Be sure to visit all my websites linked below for more of my world.
Posts
a.jpg)
a.jpg)
