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The Turkel Commission (officially The Public Commission to Examine the Maritime Incident of 31 May 2010) is an inquiry set up by
Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
i Government to investigate the
Gaza flotilla raid The Gaza flotilla raid was a military operation by Israel against six civilian ships of the " Gaza Freedom Flotilla" on 31 May 2010 in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea. Nine activists and no Israelis were killed on one ship dur ...
, and the Blockade of Gaza. It is led by Israeli retired Supreme Court Judge Jacob Turkel. The other initial members of the commission were former President of the Technion and military expert,
Amos Horev Amos Horev ( he, עמוס חורב; born Amos Sochaczewer, 30 June 1924) is an Israeli military official and expert. He served as a commander in the Palmach the elite force of the Haganah before the founding of the state, and was later an Israeli ...
, and professor of international law,
Shabtai Rosenne Shabtai Rosenne (Hebrew: שבתאי רוזן) (24 November 1917 – 21 September 2010) was a Professor of International Law and an Israeli diplomat. Rosenne was awarded the 1960 Israel Prize for Jurisprudence, the 1999 Manley O. Hudson Medal f ...
, who died in September 2010. The probe was overseen by two International observers: William David Trimble, former Leader of the Northern Irish
Ulster Unionist Party The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) is a unionist political party in Northern Ireland. The party was founded in 1905, emerging from the Irish Unionist Alliance in Ulster. Under Edward Carson, it led unionist opposition to the Irish Home Rule m ...
and
Northern Irish Northern Irish people is a demonym for all people born in Northern Ireland or people who are entitled to reside in Northern Ireland without any restriction on their period of residence. Most Northern Irish people either identify as Northern ...
First Minister, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, and
Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
former military judge Ken Watkin. In July 2011, the Israeli newspaper '' Haaretz'' reported that diplomats in Jerusalem had seen a draft copy of the UN investigative committee (the Palmer Committee) for the 2010 Flotilla to Gaza and claimed it said that the Turkel Commission inquiry was both "professional and independent".


Background

In the aftermath of the
Gaza flotilla raid The Gaza flotilla raid was a military operation by Israel against six civilian ships of the " Gaza Freedom Flotilla" on 31 May 2010 in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea. Nine activists and no Israelis were killed on one ship dur ...
, Israel rejected calls from the United Nations and governments all around the world for an independent investigation of the events, (Governments all over the world have urged Israel to have international investigators examine the incident, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not want to hear about this – and has installed an internal commission.) but has formed a domestic commission of inquiry to investigate the raid, that includes two international observers and is headed by retired Supreme Court of Israel Justice Jacob Turkel.


Members

The Israeli members of the commission were as follows: * Chair: Justice (ret.) Jacob Turkel – former Israeli Supreme Court Justice * Professor
Shabtai Rosenne Shabtai Rosenne (Hebrew: שבתאי רוזן) (24 November 1917 – 21 September 2010) was a Professor of International Law and an Israeli diplomat. Rosenne was awarded the 1960 Israel Prize for Jurisprudence, the 1999 Manley O. Hudson Medal f ...
–
Bar Ilan University Bar-Ilan University (BIU, he, אוניברסיטת בר-אילן, ''Universitat Bar-Ilan'') is a public research university in the Tel Aviv District city of Ramat Gan, Israel. Established in 1955, Bar Ilan is Israel's second-largest academic i ...
Professor of International Law (Professor Rosenne, 93 years old, died during the work of the commission, on 21 September 2010, and was not replaced.) * Maj.-Gen (Res.)
Amos Horev Amos Horev ( he, עמוס חורב; born Amos Sochaczewer, 30 June 1924) is an Israeli military official and expert. He served as a commander in the Palmach the elite force of the Haganah before the founding of the state, and was later an Israeli ...
– retired Israeli army major-general and Technion President * Professor
Miguel Deutch --> Miguel is a given name and surname, the Portuguese and Spanish form of the Hebrew name Michael. It may refer to: Places *Pedro Miguel, a parish in the municipality of Horta and the island of Faial in the Azores Islands * São Miguel (disamb ...
–
Tel Aviv University Tel Aviv University (TAU) ( he, אוּנִיבֶרְסִיטַת תֵּל אָבִיב, ''Universitat Tel Aviv'') is a public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Locate ...
Professor of Law * Reuven Merhav – retired Foreign Ministry director-general The two international observers were: *
David Trimble William David Trimble, Baron Trimble, (15 October 1944 – 25 July 2022) was a British politician who was the first First Minister of Northern Ireland from 1998 to 2002, and leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) from 1995 to 2005. He wa ...
(UK) – Former Leader of the Northern Irish
Ulster Unionist Party The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) is a unionist political party in Northern Ireland. The party was founded in 1905, emerging from the Irish Unionist Alliance in Ulster. Under Edward Carson, it led unionist opposition to the Irish Home Rule m ...
and former
First Minister A first minister is any of a variety of leaders of government cabinets. The term literally has the same meaning as "prime minister" but is typically chosen to distinguish the office-holder from a superior prime minister. Currently the title of ' ...
of
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
* Ken Watkin Q.C. (Canada) – former head of the Canadian military's legal branch, Judge Advocate General The committee was coordinated and managed by Hoshea Gottlieb. The committee also contracted the services of two foreign international law experts: * Professor Wolff Heintschel von Heinegg * Professor Michael Schmitt


Authority and operation

The inquiry was charged with investigating the legality of the Israeli blockade and the legality of the Israeli navy's actions during the raid, and determining whether investigations of claims of war crimes and breaches of international law conform to Western standards. It was also charged with looking into the Turkish position, and the actions taken by the flotilla's organizers, especially the IHH, and examining the identities and intentions of the flotilla's participants. The commission was approved by the
Cabinet of Israel The Cabinet of Israel (officially: he, ממשלת ישראל ''Memshelet Yisrael'') exercises executive authority in the State of Israel. It consists of ministers who are chosen and led by the prime minister. The composition of the governmen ...
on 14 June. The commission could hold sessions behind closed doors if it so decided. The inquiry was to exclusively examine the legality of Israel's naval blockade of Gaza and the flotilla raid. Amid widespread media criticism that painted the commission as a tool to justify the blockade of Gaza, the use of force to maintain it and the Gaza flotilla raid, Jacob Turkel told the Israeli government that the commission could not do its job without expanded investigative powers. Other jurists criticized the panel's limited mandate, and the Israeli peace group
Gush Shalom Gush Shalom (Hebrew: גוש שלום, lit. ''The Peace Bloc oalition') is an Israeli peace activism group founded by Uri Avnery in 1993. Avnery–a former journalist, Irgun and Knesset member–also lead the organization till his death in 2018. ...
sent a petition to Israel's
High Court of Justice The High Court of Justice in London, known properly as His Majesty's High Court of Justice in England, together with the Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, are the Senior Courts of England and Wales. Its name is abbreviated as EWHC (Englan ...
. As of June 2010, the committee had no power to subpoena witnesses and cannot draw personal conclusions against those involved in the raid. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Justice Minister Yaakov Neeman, Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Turkel engaged in intense negotiations on the mandate and powers of the commission. Barak refuses to let the panel question any Israel Defense Forces soldiers or officers aside from its Chief of Staff and its Military Advocate General.


International observers

The two international observers were
David Trimble William David Trimble, Baron Trimble, (15 October 1944 – 25 July 2022) was a British politician who was the first First Minister of Northern Ireland from 1998 to 2002, and leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) from 1995 to 2005. He wa ...
of the United Kingdom and Brig.-Gen. (Ret.) Ken Watkin, Q.C. of Canada. The foreign observers took part in hearings and discussions, but did not vote on the proceedings or the final conclusions. Turkel informed the two foreign observers that they would be allowed to question witnesses freely during the hearings and examine any material they wished, but that they might be denied access to documents or information if it was "almost certain to cause substantial harm to national security or to the state's foreign relations." According to the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
and '' Der Spiegel'', both observers are seen as friends of Israel. In an official letter to the commission after the release of the first part of their findings in January 2011, Trimble and Watkin stated that they had "no doubt that the Commission is independent." Both expressed their satisfaction with the work of the commission, stating that it had provided them with access to all materials and made sure they were full partners in the process and that "We are glad the commission made ongoing efforts to hear both sides."


Findings

The first part of the findings were released January 23, 2011. In the 245-page report, the commission "cleared the government and military of wrongdoing" saying that the "passengers were to blame for the violence." It continued and said "by clearly resisting capture, the ''Mavi Marmara'' had become a military objective." "The commission accused the IHH, a Turkish Islamist charity that owned the ''Mavi Marmara'', "of planned and extremely violent" resistance which was "directly connected to the ongoing international armed conflict between Israel and Hamas." The January 2011 report addressed the following: *The question of whether or not the naval blockade imposed on the Gaza Strip by Israel conformed with the rules of international law. *An assessment of the actions taken by the IDF to enforce the naval blockade. *An examination of the actions taken by the organizers of the flotilla and its participants and their identity. The commission members divided the report into two sections, the first dealing with the naval blockade of the Gaza Strip and the second with the operation to capture the Mavi Marmara.


Legality of the naval blockade

Regarding whether or not the naval blockade imposed on the Gaza Strip by Israel conformed to the rules of international law, the commission found that the conflict between Israel and the Gaza Strip is an international armed conflict and that Israel's “effective control” of the Gaza Strip ended when it completed the disengagement from the territory. The purpose of the naval blockade was primarily a military- security one. The naval blockade was imposed on the Gaza Strip lawfully, with Israel complying with the conditions for imposing it. The commission also stated that Israel is complying with its humanitarian obligations as the blockading party, including the prohibition against starving the civilian population or preventing the supply of objects essential for the survival of the civilian population and medical supplies, and the requirement that the damage to the civilian population is not excessive in relation to the real and direct military advantage anticipated from the blockade. The imposition and enforcement of the naval blockade on the Gaza Strip was not found to constitute "collective punishment" of the population of the Gaza Strip. The commission further found that international law does not give individuals or groups the freedom to ignore the imposition of a naval blockade that satisfies the conditions for imposing it and that is enforced accordingly, especially where a blockade satisfies obligations to neutral parties, merely because in the opinion of those individuals or groups it violates the duties of the party imposing the blockade concerning the entity subject to the blockade.


Legality of the raid

Regarding the legality of the raid itself, the commission reached the following conclusion: A vessel that attempts to breach a blockade is subject to international law governing the conduct of hostilities, and international humanitarian law, including the rules governing the use of force. The Israeli armed forces' interception and capture of the Gaza flotilla vessels was consistent with established international naval practice.


Use of force

Regarding the use of force, the commission concluded the following: *The participants in the flotilla were predominantly an international group of civilians whose main goal was to bring publicity to the humanitarian situation in Gaza by attempting to breach the blockade. *A group of IHH and affiliated activists on board the Mavi Marmara and the other flotilla vessels violently opposed the Israeli boarding. The IHH activists who participated in that violence were civilians taking a direct part in hostilities. * The force used against civilians on board the flotilla was governed by the principles of "necessity" and use of "proportionate force" associated with human rights-based law enforcement norms. The IHH activists lost the protection of their civilian status when they directly participated in the hostilities. *The Rules of Engagement for the operation provided an authority to use force that reflected the nature of a law-enforcement operation. *The IHH activists carried out the violence on board the Mavi Marmara by arming themselves with a wide array of weapons, including iron bars, axes, clubs, slingshots, knives, and metal objects. These were weapons capable of causing death or serious injury. Further, the hostilities were conducted in an organized manner with IHH activists, among others, operating in groups when violently assaulting the IDF soldiers. *The IHH activists used firearms against the IDF soldiers during the hostilities. The Commission examined 133 incidents in which force was used. The majority of the uses of force involved warning or deterring fire and less lethal weapons. The commission found that overall, the IDF personnel acted professionally in the faces of extensive and unanticipated violence. This included continuing to switch back and forth between less-lethal and lethal weapons in order to address the nature of the violence directed at them. The commission concluded that in 127 cases, the use of force appeared to be in conformity with international law. In six cases, the commission concluded that it had insufficient information to be able to make a determination. Three out of those six cases involved the use of live fire and three cases involved physical force; two incidents of kicking and one strike with the butt of a gun. In five out of the 127 incidents that appeared to be in conformity with international law, there was insufficient evidence to conclude that the use of force was also in accordance with law enforcement norms. However, in these cases, force appeared to be used against persons taking a direct part in hostilities and, as a consequence, was in conformity with international law.


Planning and organization

Regarding the planning and organization of the IDF mission to enforce the blockade, the commission stated that violent opposition to the boarding was not anticipated, and this had a direct impact on the operational tactics, rules of engagement, and training before the operation. However, the focus of the planning and organization of the operation on a lower level of resistance did not lead to a breach of international law, the commission said.


Conclusions

In its final remarks, the committee concluded that: * "The naval blockade imposed on the Gaza Strip – in view of the security circumstances and Israel’s efforts to comply with its humanitarian obligations – was legal pursuant to the rules of international law." * "The actions carried out by Israel on May 31, 2010, to enforce the naval blockade had the regrettable consequences of the loss of human life and physical injuries. Nonetheless, and despite the limited number of uses of force for which we could not reach a conclusion, the actions taken were found to be legal pursuant to the rules of international law."


Criticism

The criticisms to date have been: # Why have a commission at all? # Why have a commission with limited investigative and subpoena powers? # The advanced age of the three initial Israeli members (average age, 85) # Why are there no women members in the commission?
Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...
and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas dismissed the Israeli investigation and said it would not meet demands set by the UN Security Council. The Israeli newspaper ''Haaretz'' described the investigation as more and more like a "farce" and criticized its credibility and fairness. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon repeated the demand for an independent investigation, stating that the Israeli investigation will not have international credibility. Amnesty International called the commission a "whitewash," saying it "reinforces the view that the Israeli authorities are unwilling or incapable of delivering accountability for abuses of international law committed by Israeli forces." The Israeli human rights group Gisha said that "No commission of inquiry can authorize the collective punishment of a civilian population by restricting its movement and access, as Israel did in its closure of Gaza, of which the maritime closure was an integral part." The commission's chairman Jacob Turkel also criticized the structure of the commission and threatened to resign if its powers were not expanded. He has requested that the commission be recognized as an official state commission of inquiry with full powers under the Commissions of Inquiry law, have two more members, be allowed to subpoena witnesses and documents, warn those who testify before it that the panel's findings could harm them, and hire outside experts in relevant fields. In July 2010, the Israeli cabinet voted to expand the committee's powers to include subpoenas and receiving sworn testimony but with the proviso that they cannot speak with any IDF soldiers. Israel's High Court of Justice provided strong support for the criticism against the absence of women on the commission, when it found for the petitioners, Israeli feminist NGOs led by Itach-Maaki: Women Lawyers for Social Justice. The petitioners challenged the absence of women on the commission, particularly after its expansion from three to five members, when it was no longer composed only of international law experts, but included a diplomat and a civil law expert. The Court ruled that by failing to nominate women, Israel's Government violated its duty under the Equal Rights for Women's Law. The Law was amended in 2005, following
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (S/RES/1325), on women, peace, and security, was adopted unanimously by the UN Security Council on 31 October 2000, after recalling resolutions 1261 (1999), 1265 (1999), 1296 (2000), and 1314 (20 ...
. According to this Amendment, the Government has a duty to consider the "due representation" of women from all segments of the population in any policy-making committee, including on peace and security teams. Dismissing the Government's claims that it was too late to add new members to the commission because its work is too far advanced, and that there were no qualified women to be found, the High Court issued a decree ordering the Government to add at least one woman to the commission's panel. The Court added that if the Government approaches five qualified women and all of them refuse the invitation to serve on the commission, then this time around the Government would be considered as having fulfilled its legal obligation to consider women's representation. Two weeks after the Court's ruling, the Government announced that five women refused to serve on the commission, and that it therefore considered itself in compliance with the law. Justice Minister Yaakov Ne'eman, after reportedly lying to Government Cabinet on his actions toward nominating women, publicly expressed his view that the Court's ruling was a severe mistake. The ruling, however, have made an ongoing impact on the governmental culture with regards to women. When, in August 2010, Prime Minister Netanyahu announced the launch of direct peace negotiations, he announced that he would abide by his legal duty and nominate women to the negotiation team. Shortly afterwards, when Defense Minister Ehud Barak established an investigative committee to inquire about the "
Yoav Galant Yoav Galant (; born 8 November 1958) is an Israeli politician currently serving as the Minister of Defense since 2022. He is a former commander of the Southern Command in the Israel Defense Forces. In January 2015, he entered politics, joinin ...
Document" affair, he too nominated a woman to that committee.


References

Turkel committee to hold first meeting on Wednesday
Haaretz {{reflist


External links


Turkel CommissionThe Turkel Commission Report - Part One, January 2011
Gaza flotilla raid Israeli commissions and inquiries 2010 in Israel 2011 in Israel