Israel expects decision soon on raid probe

An Israeli minister said Monday he expects a decision soon on an investigation into Israel's deadly raid on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla that killed eight Turks and a Turkish-American.

Vice Prime Minister Silvan Shalom said Israel is now considering the options for an investigation and is dealing with the United States and the United Nations.

He told The Associated Press on Monday that "a decision will be published in a short time."

The U.N. Security Council has called for "a prompt, impartial, credible and transparent investigation conforming to international standards." The Palestinians and Arabs are insisting that the probe be "independent." Israel objects to such an inquiry, believing the international community is biased and that it is capable of investigating the incident itself.

But an Israeli Foreign Ministry official said Sunday that U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is moving ahead with plans for an international commission that would include Israeli, Turkish and U.S. representatives.

The U.N. chief wants former New Zealand Prime Minister Geoffrey Palmer, a maritime law expert, to head the panel, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because Ban has not announced details of his proposal.

New Zealand's current Prime Minister John Key on Tuesday called Palmer, "very, very intelligent" with "a great knowledge of the law" and said his possible appointment was recognition "that New Zealand is seen as an honest broker - we don't take sides between Palestine and Israel."

U.N. associate spokesman Farhan Haq told reporters Monday that the secretary-general has been in contact with Israeli and Turkish leaders and other key parties to try to bridge differences and ensure that any investigation has "the full cooperation" of the countries most closely concerned. But he said "there have been no names formally conveyed to any of the parties."

"There's a considerable amount of discussion going on about the format of a potential inquiry," Haq said. "The secretary-general is also developing possible terms of reference and logistical arrangements for such an effort."

Shalom, who is Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's deputy and sometimes rival in the ruling Likud Party, when asked whether there would be an international component to an investigation as the U.S., Britain and others have urged, replied: "We are dealing with them, and I think we will take the decision together."

Will that decision be satisfactory to all the concerned parties?

"I know it will be a satisfactory decision for the truth," Shalom replied.

The investigation is virtually certain to be on the agenda of a meeting Wednesday between Israel's Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, who flew to New York on a long-planned visit, and U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice.

Israeli forces rappelled from helicopters onto the six vessels in the international aid flotilla on May 31 to prevent them from breaking an Israeli blockade of Gaza, imposed in 2007 after Hamas overran the territory. There was no violence on five of the ships but video footage from the Israeli military and Turkish TV showed passengers attacking the Israeli soldiers descending on ropes onto a Turkish ship with metal bars.

Israel claims its troops acted in self-defense against the attackers. A preliminary autopsy report released by Turkey on Saturday said the nine men killed were shot a total of 30 times.

The outrage over the deaths has prompted calls from many nations, including the United States, for at least a partial lifting of the blockade that Israel says is necessary to isolate the Islamic militants of Hamas who control Gaza and keep them from expanding their arsenals.

Haq said the secretary-general is continuing to work to ease the situation in Gaza.

Envoys from the "Quartet" of Mideast peacemakers - the U.N., the U.S., the European Union and Russia - had a teleconference Monday in which they discussed how to preserve and strengthen the U.S.-mediated indirect talks between Israel and the Palestinians, Haq said.

"They also discussed the urgent need for a fundamentally different strategy in Gaza," he said.

The four parties agreed to continue their intensive consultations in order to make recommendations to their leaders as soon as possible on a new strategy, Haq said.