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The head of an Israeli commission set up to investigate a deadly Israeli raid on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla threatened to resign unless the probe is given wider powers, Israeli TV said on Tuesday.
Yaakov Tirkel, a retired Supreme Court judge, told Justice Minister Yaakov Neeman that he would leave the post if his demands were not met, the private Channel Two network reported.
He called for "the independent public commission," whose work officially started on Monday, to become a government commission of inquiry with the power to recommend sanctions against political and military leaders.
Tirkel also sought two assistants for the three members and two foreign observers that make up the panel, the report said, adding that the judge agreed to put off his resignation until cabinet considered the changes on Sunday.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday evening that the cabinet was ready to extend the commission's mandate, according to a spokesman.
"After consultations with the prime minister, the minister of defence and the justice minister, it appears that there are no obstacles to responding positively to this demand," the spokesman said.
He emphasised that the extended mandate of the commission would not allow it to investigate any military personel involved in the flotilla raid except the chief of staff.
Netanyahu, Defence Minister Ehud Barak and military chief of staff Gaby Ashkenazi have already agreed to appear before the internal commission.
Israel set up the so-called Tirkel Commission under pressure from the United States a fortnight after its commandos killed nine Turkish activists on May 31 after intercepting a six-ship fleet carrying aid to Gaza.
The probe is limited to determining the validity under international law of Israel's Gaza sea blockade, the deadly raid in international waters, and the actions of the activists and the aid flotilla's organisers.
Tirkel, 75, is due to work alongside retired major general Amos Horev, 86, and Shabtai Rosen, 93, a professor of international law.
The panel will also include two international observers: Irish Nobel Peace Prize winner David Trimble, 65, and Ken Watkin, 55, former judge advocate general of the Canadian military.
http://arabia.msn.com/News/MiddleEast/AFP/2010/June/1837199.aspx?ref=rss
Yaakov Tirkel, a retired Supreme Court judge, told Justice Minister Yaakov Neeman that he would leave the post if his demands were not met, the private Channel Two network reported.
He called for "the independent public commission," whose work officially started on Monday, to become a government commission of inquiry with the power to recommend sanctions against political and military leaders.
Tirkel also sought two assistants for the three members and two foreign observers that make up the panel, the report said, adding that the judge agreed to put off his resignation until cabinet considered the changes on Sunday.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday evening that the cabinet was ready to extend the commission's mandate, according to a spokesman.
"After consultations with the prime minister, the minister of defence and the justice minister, it appears that there are no obstacles to responding positively to this demand," the spokesman said.
He emphasised that the extended mandate of the commission would not allow it to investigate any military personel involved in the flotilla raid except the chief of staff.
Netanyahu, Defence Minister Ehud Barak and military chief of staff Gaby Ashkenazi have already agreed to appear before the internal commission.
Israel set up the so-called Tirkel Commission under pressure from the United States a fortnight after its commandos killed nine Turkish activists on May 31 after intercepting a six-ship fleet carrying aid to Gaza.
The probe is limited to determining the validity under international law of Israel's Gaza sea blockade, the deadly raid in international waters, and the actions of the activists and the aid flotilla's organisers.
Tirkel, 75, is due to work alongside retired major general Amos Horev, 86, and Shabtai Rosen, 93, a professor of international law.
The panel will also include two international observers: Irish Nobel Peace Prize winner David Trimble, 65, and Ken Watkin, 55, former judge advocate general of the Canadian military.
http://arabia.msn.com/News/MiddleEast/AFP/2010/June/1837199.aspx?ref=rss
