In a compromise reached between the petitioners from Gush Shalom and the State prosecutors, based on the suggestion of Judge Naor, it was agreed that if the Tirkel Committee will ask to investigate military officers, and the Government will not enable it, the issue will go back to court. The compromise was given the status of a court decision.

The words of Justice Naor, speaking also on behalf of her colleagues Hayut and Hendel, clearly implied the Court's opinion that, from the moment that the government decided to turn the Tirkel Committee into a State Commission of Inquiry, this commission cannot be prevented from summoning anyone whose testimony is deemed necessary to the issues under inquiry - be they civilians or military.

Uri Avnery, one of the signatories of the petition, said he sees the decision as a big victory. "For the first time, it was established that the High Court of Justice can interfere with government decisions regarding commissions of inquiry. Until today, the court avoided doing that. Also, the dangerous attempt to turn the army into an enclave, immune to outside criticism, was blocked".

Gaby Lasky, the lawyer who prepared the petition, said that "the subject the committee is supposed to investigate, that is, whether taking control of the Flotilla to Gaza was done according to the International Law, cannot be investigated at all without summoning military staff. The committee must inquire what was the intelligence available to the army when planning the operation, what was the knowledge regarding the presence of civilians on board the ships, and what were the instructions given to the soldiers regarding the way to treat those civilians.

These things must be investigated in order to examine whether the operation was carried out in accordance with the demands of the Rome Statute, which defines the international criminal law pertaining to war crimes, and other statutes of the international law regarding marine affairs. To achieve these goals, the committee must summon the Commander of the Israel Navy, the naval intelligence officers and the commanders of the operation".

Avnery said that "in light of the High Court's decision, the government will probably have no choice but to allow the committee to summon officers to testify. If they will not allow that, the issue will go back to courts, and considering the judges very clear position on the issue, they will undoubtedly force the government to do so".

Contact: Adam Keller 054-2340749