BICOM

According to Israeli and Turkish media reports this morning, the release of the Palmer report on last year’s flotilla to Gaza is expected to be postponed until 20 August. The report of the investigation led by former New Zealand prime minister Geoffrey Palmer had been expected to be released on Wednesday. The extra time, according to reports, is intended to allow Jerusalem and Ankara to continue efforts to reach a compromise regarding aspects of the phrasing of the final report. Palmer has been assisted in his investigation by two deputies, one Turkish and one Israeli.

Israel, according to a report in the Turkish Hurriyet newspaper, is considering compensating the families of the nine people killed by Israeli forces on board the Mavi Marmari ship, a Turkish craft that took part in the flotilla last year. Israel is also considering issuing a statement regretting the loss of life on board the ship. Turkey, however, wants a full and official apology. Israel’s inner cabinet, ‘the septet,’ is reportedly split on the issue, with Ministers Dan Meridor and Ehud Barak supporting an apology and Ministers Avigdor Lieberman and Moshe Ya’alon vehemently opposed to one. Those opposed to an apology argue that it would constitute an admission of guilt and expose soldiers who took part in the operation to lawsuits overseas.