Falk Skeptical of "Israeli" Probe, Ban Ki-Moon Reacts Cautiously

Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in occupied Palestine, Richard Falk revealed his skepticism on the "Israeli" probe conducted to investigate the Zionist attack on Freedom Flotilla.

Falk stressed in a press conference on the importance of conducting a free international investigation on the attack.

"Given the kind of statements political ("Israeli") leadership has made about not objecting the "Israeli" military participants in the naval operation to any kind of questioning; providing a very dubious defense of the operation; and some rather unreliable presentations of the facts as they occurred, makes one wonder as to what the credibility of such an investigation will be," Falk told reporters.

He added, "I'm rather skeptical, and that skepticism I think is reinforced by the investigation that was carried out into Operation Cast Lead (Gaza aggression), in which the most serious infraction that was found in the report was an allegation that an "Israeli" soldier had stolen a credit card."

Moreover, the UN official clarified, "None of the serious allegations involving tactics and weapons and the attack itself were subjected to any sort of objective analysis."

On his part, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon continues to push for international investigation, as the UN announced on Monday that Ban "took note" of "Israel's" announcement about its probe.

UN Spokesman said, "A thorough "Israeli" investigation is important and could fit with the secretary-general's proposal, which would fully meet the international community's expectation for a credible and impartial investigation."

However, the spokesman added that Ban's proposal for an international inquiry remains on the table and he hopes for a positive "Israeli" response.

"Israel" earlier rejected a UN proposal for an international probe, but has later agreed to include two international observers in its own inquiry.

The US foreign ministry rushed to regard "Israel's" decision to conduct a probe to investigate the attack as "an important step forward".

According to UN sources at the world body's headquarters in New York, UN secretary General is holding discussions with the five permanent members of the Security Council while seeking the advice of international observers, all in an effort to formulate an "international authority" that would investigate the "Israeli" attack against the flotilla.