The release of a long-anticipated report from the United Nations on the 2010 Gaza flotilla will be delayed until August, according to U.N. spokesperson Martin Nesirky.
The announcement of the report’s delay, which came on Monday, means it will closely coincide with a promised push by the Palestinians for the U.N. to recognize their legitimacy as a state during the annual U.N. meeting in September.
The release of the final report has been repeatedly delayed since the U.N.’s flotilla panel was created in early August 2010.
The panel was established to provide an independent, international inquiry into a series of events that resulted in nine deaths. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said during a press briefing last year it was a “robust mandate.” An interim report was submitted to the secretary-general in mid-September, but was not made public.
The panel was established to provide an independent, international inquiry into a series of events that resulted in nine deaths.
In May 2010, a small flotilla of ships carrying activists, journalists, and other passengers bound for Gaza was intercepted by Israeli navy commandos on the high seas. All of the ships were prevented from docking in Gaza’s port, where their stated intention was to deliver humanitarian aid and break Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza.
A violent and ultimately deadly battle ensued between Israeli commandos and passengers on the Mavi Marmara, the largest of the flotilla ships with several hundred passengers and sailing under a Turkish flag. Nine Turkish passengers were killed, and several Israeli soldiers were injured. The deaths caused an international uproar against Israel, and they later lessened restrictions on the passage of goods and materials into Gaza.
During a press briefing immediately after the Mavi Marmara was escorted to the Israel’s Port of Ashdod, one of the commandos who had boarded the Marmara told members of the international press that the soldiers had been unarmed except for paint guns, and were violently attacked by passengers who were prepared with knives, axes, and other weapons. However, the soldier—who said he had come straight from the ship—had a handgun in his belt.
Members of the U.N. flotilla panel include representatives from Israel and Turkey, as well as the former prime minister of New Zealand, Geoffrey Palmer and former president of Colombia, Alvaro Uribe. Part of their mandate was to review domestic investigations from Israel and Turkey on what has widely been dubbed the “flotilla incident.”
The announcement of the report’s delay, which came on Monday, means it will closely coincide with a promised push by the Palestinians for the U.N. to recognize their legitimacy as a state during the annual U.N. meeting in September.
The release of the final report has been repeatedly delayed since the U.N.’s flotilla panel was created in early August 2010.
The panel was established to provide an independent, international inquiry into a series of events that resulted in nine deaths. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said during a press briefing last year it was a “robust mandate.” An interim report was submitted to the secretary-general in mid-September, but was not made public.
The panel was established to provide an independent, international inquiry into a series of events that resulted in nine deaths.
In May 2010, a small flotilla of ships carrying activists, journalists, and other passengers bound for Gaza was intercepted by Israeli navy commandos on the high seas. All of the ships were prevented from docking in Gaza’s port, where their stated intention was to deliver humanitarian aid and break Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza.
A violent and ultimately deadly battle ensued between Israeli commandos and passengers on the Mavi Marmara, the largest of the flotilla ships with several hundred passengers and sailing under a Turkish flag. Nine Turkish passengers were killed, and several Israeli soldiers were injured. The deaths caused an international uproar against Israel, and they later lessened restrictions on the passage of goods and materials into Gaza.
During a press briefing immediately after the Mavi Marmara was escorted to the Israel’s Port of Ashdod, one of the commandos who had boarded the Marmara told members of the international press that the soldiers had been unarmed except for paint guns, and were violently attacked by passengers who were prepared with knives, axes, and other weapons. However, the soldier—who said he had come straight from the ship—had a handgun in his belt.
Members of the U.N. flotilla panel include representatives from Israel and Turkey, as well as the former prime minister of New Zealand, Geoffrey Palmer and former president of Colombia, Alvaro Uribe. Part of their mandate was to review domestic investigations from Israel and Turkey on what has widely been dubbed the “flotilla incident.”
