Israel to ease blockade in swap for low-key raid probe
Hamas Navy officers at Gaza port on Sunday honour the Turkish people killed on the aid ship Mavi Marmara last week
ISRAEL is poised to accept a new plan to ease its blockade of Gaza in exchange for international acceptance of a watered-down investigation into last week's deadly raid on a Turkish aid ship, sources said yesterday.
The plan is based on proposals drawn up by Britain in a confidential document circulated last week.
And Israeli officials said it would agree in principle to permit the passage of more aid through Israel's land crossings.
Since Hamas seized control in 2007, Israel has allowed only basic humanitarian supplies into Gaza, while forbidding the importation of most electronic and construction materials that it says could be used for military purposes.
Some parties are concerned about the price exacted by Israel.
Turkey fears that the trade-off will mean Israel is never held to account for the nine deaths on board the 'Mavi Marmara', the lead ship in the international flotilla that tried to break the naval blockade of Gaza last week.
Israeli officials denied there was a direct link between their willingness to co-operate and the apparent ebbing of Western support for a UN-led international inquiry into the raid on the flotilla.
But a Western source close to international discussions with Israel said: "A quid pro quo deal is in the offing."
UK Foreign Secretary William Hague also hinted that pressure for a UN investigation was easing by declaring that "an inquiry with an international presence" might be acceptable. The Israeli government has proposed conducting its own investigation, possibly with American observers, but has ruled out questioning soldiers involved in the raid.
According to Western sources, many of the British proposals have been adopted by the Quartet group -- the negotiating body comprising the UN, the United States, the European Union and Russia.
They include calls for Israel to abandon its list of 35 items that can be imported to Gaza in favour of a list of outlawed items. Israel has also been asked to ease access into Gaza at its land crossings and to allow the UN to transport materials and equipment needed to rebuild 60,000 homes destroyed or damaged during the Gaza war in 2008.
Inspectors
"Israel could be flexible about items reaching the civilian population," an Israeli official said.
He added that some construction materials could be allowed in under "third-party" guarantees, meaning that the UN would be responsible for ensuring that such materials were kept away from Hamas.
One British suggestion of an international maritime force that would observe all ships searched by Israeli and foreign inspectors before being allowed to dock in Gaza was vetoed by Israel, which is insisting that it must be allowed full control of Gaza's waters.
There was scepticism in the aid community that Israeli concessions on the blockade would substantially ease the suffering in Gaza.
"Let's judge the Israeli authorities by their actions rather than their words because there have been plenty of words in the past," said a spokesman for the UN Relief and Works Agency.
Israel's military is anxious that it will have its own experts examine what caused the raid to turn deadly, however other countries, led by Turkey, have condemned the operation and intensified demands for an international investigation.
Turkey's president Abdullah Gul released a statement yesterday from a security summit attended by 21 countries that said "all member states, except one, expressed their grave concern and condemnation for the actions undertaken by the Israeli Defence Forces".
Mr Gul said 21 of the 22 nations in the grouping, which includes Israel, have also called on the Jewish state to end its blockade of Gaza and to agree to an international investigation of the incident.
In the raid on the flotilla last week, Israeli commandos rappelled onto the deck of one of the ships. The soldiers were intercepted by a crowd of activists, setting off a clash that killed nine men -- eight Turks and a Turkish American.
Criticism
Israel says its soldiers began shooting only after a mob of pro-Palestinian activists attacked them -- a version backed up by video footage released by the army. But the activists and their supporters say Israeli commandos needlessly opened fire.
The incident triggered a storm of criticism of Israel, which has rejected calls for an international investigation, saying it would be biased against the Jewish state.
Russia's prime minister, Vladimir Putin, added Moscow's weight to the calls for such a probe.
"It has to be investigated specially," Putin said at a news conference in Istanbul with Turkey's prime minister, a fierce critic of Israel since its war in Gaza 18 months ago. (© Daily Telegraph, London)
Alan Shatter's view Page 27
- Adrian Blomfield in Jerusalem
Irish Independent
