U.S. envoy dour on flotilla raid

UNITED NATIONS, June 10 (UPI) -- Israel is getting a blank check to continue its aggressive policies in the wake of the May attack on a humanitarian flotilla, a U.S. diplomat told a U.N. panel.

Edward Peck, a career U.S. diplomat who was one of the activists on board a flotilla trying to break the Israeli blockade of Gaza, told the Palestinian Rights Committee that Israel needed to change its ways regarding Palestinians.

Israel said it was wary of arms smuggling to Gaza militants, adding soldiers came under attack from activists on a Turkish-flagged ship. Witnesses described an aggressive Israeli response.

"If the (Israeli) assault had taken place off the coast of Somalia, it would have been called piracy," said Peck.

Peck, who described himself as a secular Jew, said he feared "very bad things" would continue unless Israel changed its behavior regarding Palestinians.

The U.N. Human Rights Council last week voted to launch an independent international probe into alleged Israeli violations of international law during the raid. The flotilla was in international waters when Israeli forces boarded a Turkish-flagged vessel.