UN proposes multinational probe into activists’ deaths

UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon has proposed a multinational investigation of Israel’s raid on a Gaza-bound aid ship in which nine pro-Palestinian activists were killed, an Israeli official said yesterday.

Ban has suggested establishing a panel that would be headed by former New Zealand prime minister Geoffrey Palmer and include representatives from Turkey – under whose flag the ship sailed – Israel and the United States, said the official from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office.

The Israeli leader discussed the proposal with Ban on Saturday and convened senior cabinet ministers to decide whether Israel would take part yesterday but deferred further consideration. “We must cautiously weigh the manner in which such an investigation will be conducted to protect the interests of Israel,” Netanyahu said.