Sometimes, the reports countries produce when they investigate themselves in the name of accountability, seem rather suspicious. Take for example the just published report of Israel's "Public Commission to Examine the Maritime Incident of 31 May 2010." Half of the report finds that Israel's blockade of Gaza does not formally violate international law. The other half justify Israel's raid on the six ships Turkish sponsored "Gaza flotilla" in which nine people were killed. The report is probably correct and Turkish protests to the contrary have to be taken with a grain of slat. The Israeli commission had two foreign observers, Brigadier general Ken Watkins of Canada who was Judge Advocate General (JAG) of the Canadian Forces from 2006 to 2010, who specializes in military law, and Lord David Trimble of Northern Ireland, who received the Noble Prize for Peace in 1998, is a previous law professor and a member of the Conservative Party. Both signed the report's conclusions.
The report is not wholly supportive of Israel. It is critical of the land blockade and calls on Israel to examine the medical needs of the people of Gaza and find ways to improve on the current situation.
To find out how terrible the situation in Gaza is, one may want to look at B'tselem's report on the blockade. Given this situation, one may wonder whether international laws regulating blockades are not too permissive and should not be changed to fit better with human rights sensibilities.
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