On 7 June 2007, the Israeli Joint Chief of Staff, Gabi Ashkenazi ordered the establishment of an investigative team to examine the events and IDF actions that occurred during the takeover of the Gaza flotilla.[1] The investigation, headed by Major General (ret.) Giora Eiland, will be based on the operational debriefing that was conducted following the operation. The Eiland Committee is expected to deliver its conclusions by July.
On 14 June 2010, the Israeli Government appointed an independent fact-finding committee to investigate certain aspects of the flotilla incident. The members of the committee include retired Supreme Court Justice Yaakov Tirkel, who heads it, Professor Shabtai Rosen, an expert in international maritime law, Major General (ret.) Amos Horev, and two international observers – Lord David Trimble, former First Minister of Northern Ireland and Nobel Peace Prize recipient, and Brigadier General Ken Watkin, who until recently served as Chief Advocate General of the Canadian Armed Forces.
The committee is authorized to focus on the question of whether the actions that were taken by Israel to prevent the entry of the flotilla into Gaza were consistent with international law. In order to answer this question, it is required to issue its findings, inter alia, on the security reasons for the imposition of the naval blockade and its compatibility with international law, and to investigate the actions of the organizers and participants of the flotilla. The committee will also examine the propriety of the Israeli investigation mechanisms with regard to allegations of violations of IHL.
The fact-finding committee is authorized to summon any person to testify before it (and all government employees are instructed to cooperate with it). However, with regard to military personnel and sensitive security-related information, the committee will only receive information from the aforementioned Eiland Committee upon request. Moreover, according to the Attorney General, because a thorough investigation is a matter of public interest, the state authorities will not make any evidentiary use of any testimonies, which will be presented before the committee.
On 16 June 2010, Turkey announced the establishment of its own fact-finding committee, which seeks to evaluate the national and international implications of the ‘flotilla incident’. The committee will be headed by the Turkish Minister of Justice and the Minister of Foreign Affairs.