UN flotilla statement

The statement from the UN Security Council bears the marks of the compromise it is reported to be. By condemning 'those acts [in the plural] which resulted in the loss of at least ten civilians and many wounded', the statement leaves open the exact balance of responsibility as between Israel and those on the flotilla who set upon the Israelis as they boarded. The call for 'a prompt, impartial, credible and transparent investigation conforming to international standards' is silent on the rather important question: under whose auspices is this investigation to be held? The suggestion of UN deputy ambassador Alejandro Wolff (referred to here) that 'an internal inquiry by Israel would suffice' is going to fail to satisfy a lot of people in the present climate of international opinion, with its many and ever-spreading layers of hatred towards that country. At the same time, the track record of some of the UN's own bodies where Israel is concerned gives no grounds for confidence on the score of 'impartiality'. Perhaps it was the best that could be expected from such a compromise statement, to leave the question unresolved.