UAE Human Rights Association slams Palmer Committee report on flotilla

Abu Dhabi, Sept 11, 2011 (WAM) - The UAE Human Rights Association has condemned the findings contained in the report of the Palmer Committee assigned by the United Nations to investigate the crime of piracy perpetrated by Israeli military on flotilla in international waters early in June 2010.
Palmer Committee had concluded that Israel's naval blockade of the Gaza Strip is legal and that the assault on the Mavi Marmara was wild and lacked in proportion.
In a statement issued yesterday, the Association strongly condemned the findings that claimed the legitimacy of the Israeli siege on the Gaza Strip, which goes against all norms of international humanitarian law and is the worst form of collective punishment prohibited by the provisions of the Fourth Geneva Convention.
The Association also condemned the committee's abuse towards the international solidarity by accusing them of being insensitive to their safety for their insistence on visiting Gaza and breaking the siege. This attitude of the committee underlines its flagrant bias; insisted the Association. The Association called upon the UN to re-examine the circumstances surrounding the preparation of this report and take necessary actions to maintain the UN's reputation, which this report has put at stake. - Emirates News Agency, WAM