The report is not complete
The handover of a long-postponed UN inquiry report on an Israeli raid on a Gaza-bound ship in 2010 that killed nine Turks has been delayed again, a UN spokesman said.
The UN announcement came as Israel and Turkey traded blame for the delay in the delivery of the final report to the office of UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.
“At this stage, the report is not complete,” UN spokesman Farhan Haq told reporters in New York.
“The secretary general does hope that the members of the panel will be able to work on coming to a consensus,” he said.
The so-called Palmer report has been delayed repeatedly to allow for Israeli-Turkish rapprochement talks. Washington has been concerned at the rift between two countries that had been strategic partners in an increasingly stormy Middle East.
UN officials originally suggested the report by a four-man inquiry panel could be finalised in February, then April, July and, most recently mid-to-late August.
Diplomats had said the report would be handed over to Ban’s office as early as yesterday.
Haq said it was not clear when the report on the findings of a UN inquiry into the seizure of the Mavi Marmara last year would be received.
“We’ve been saying late August and that’s still roughly what we’re looking at,” he said.
Once the report is delivered to Ban’s office, it is unclear whether it will be made available to the public. UN officials say Ban will decide after reading it whether to release it in full, issue a redacted version or not publish it at all.
Source: Reuters/ United Nations
