UN panel on flotilla raid completes probe in Jordan

AMMAN - A UN fact-finding mission left Jordan Saturday, prominent Jordanian unionist Wael Saqqa said, following a five-day investigation into a fatal Israeli raid on a Gaza-bound flotilla in the Mediterranean May 31.

During its stay in the capital Amman, the UN team conducted hearings with about 30 Arab activists who were aboard the flotilla vessels when Israeli troops raided the Turkish-flagged Mavi Marmara, killing nine people, Saqqa told DPA.

Thirty-three Jordanian activists had been aboard the Turkish ship, which sought to break Israel’s blockade on the Gaza Strip.

Saqqa said the group interviewed by the UN team included 24 Jordanians, two Bahrain nationals, a Lebanese and three Arabs from Israel, including parliamentarian Hanin Zoabi.

Zoabi, who was aboard the Mavi Marmara, told the UN panel she believed the Israeli soldiers had prior “permission to kill”.

Jordan was the last stop of the UN team’s mission, which also included visits to London, Geneva and Turkey. The panel met with a total of about 100 people, Saqqa said.

The panel, chaired by former International Court of Justice judge Karl Hudson-Phillips, is due to report back to the UN Human Rights Council during its session between Sep 13 and Oct 11.

“We reported what we had seen. The UN team should pursue an objective method in writing its report,” Saqqa said.

“However, we don’t attach much hope to its findings, given the failure of the world community to follow up the Goldstone report,” Saqqa added, referring to the findings of another fact-finding mission last year.

That mission, led by former judge Richard Goldstone, had issued a report accusing Israel of committing violations during its attack on Gaza in Jan 2009. The report was adopted by the UN Human Rights Council in Sep 2009.