Israel threatening to quit UN probe into flotilla
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Israel has threatened to pull out of a UN inquiry into a deadly raid on a Turkish flotilla heading for Gaza, after the UN chief said there is no agreement that the panel would refrain from calling Israeli soldiers to testify.
Last week Israel agreed to participate in the UN probe into the May 31 raid, when nine pro-Palestinian activists were killed after Israeli naval commandos boarded a Turkish vessel aiming to break Israel's sea blockade of Gaza.
The surprise development on Monday came just hours after Israeli Prime Minister, Mr Benjamin Netanyahu, testified before his country's own inquiry into the raid. He charged that Turkey had an interest in the violent confrontation, refusing to exert its influence to stop the flotilla. A Turkish official rejected that as "ridiculous."
Israeli officials said the agreement to take part in the UN probe was conditional on the panel relying on reports from Israel's own military inquiry, not testimony from soldiers.
But at a news conference yesterday at UN headquarters, Secretary-General, Mr Ban Ki-moon, was asked whether he had agreed not to summon Israeli soldiers before the panel.
"No, there was no such agreement behind the scenes," Mr Ban said, adding that the panel is supposed to work with the Israeli and Turkish inquiries. "And whatever is needed beyond that, they will have to discuss among themselves, in close coordination with the national government authorities, that they can take their own future steps," he said.
In response, the Israeli Prime Minister's office issued a harsh statement. "Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu makes it absolutely clear that Israel will not cooperate with and will not take part in any panel that seeks to interrogate Israeli soldiers," it said.
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