BICOM

The Turkel Commission yesterday published its second report, which probed the Israeli army’s mechanisms for investigating allegations of war crimes and concluded that they meet the standards of international law, although the panel recommended changes.

The panel, whose full title is the Public Commission to Examine the Maritime Incident of 31 May 2010, was set up in the aftermath of the deaths of nine Turkish activists aboard the Gaza-bound Turkish protest vessel the Mavi Marmara after Israeli commandos had boarded the boat. The panel included two foreign observers, former-Northern Ireland first minister David Trimble, and the former head of the Canadian military’s judiciary, Judge Advocate General Ken Watkin. The Commission’s first report found that Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza and its raid on the Marmara were both legal under international law. The second part of the investigation, published yesterday, addressed whether Israeli military investigations met international standards.

The almost 400-page report concluded that the current system of military probes complies with the requirements of international law. Nonetheless, it suggested 19 recommendations for “improving the system of reviewing and investigating.” Among the proposed changes, the Commission called for special military units to investigate operational incidents, that internal investigations of the Shin Bet should be taken over by a state attorney unit and that all Shin Bet interrogations should be videotaped.

Receiving the report from retired-Justice Joseph Turkel who headed the Commission, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that “We will consider the… recommendations regarding changes and improvements,” and that the panel’s mandate “underscores how determined we are to continue operating according to international standards.” Meanwhile Israeli human rights group B’Tselem welcomed the Turkel report as “forward looking.”