Kouchner and Hague pressure Israel over Gaza

The EU could play a greater role in ensuring aid gets into Gaza and weapons are banned, the French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said.

He urged Israel to an international investigation into the deaths of nine activists to accept a Turkish aid ship.

He spoke alongside the British Secretary of State William Hague, who said that Europe would maintain pressure on Israel.

Israel, the Gaza Strip and blocks over fears of missile attacks, has ruled out international involvement in a probe.

The dead one week ago there was worldwide condemnation, but opposition from Israel, which claims it has the right to defend itself.

Another aid ship, owned by Irish Rachel Corrie, was intercepted by Israel on Saturday and officials began deporting the crew and activists.
'Transparency' needed

In response to criticism that Europe is not enough measures, Mr Kouchner said the EU was willing to charge to check the ships in Gaza, and more a role in the control of the Rafah crossing from Egypt into Gaza to play .
"The European Union should participate in politics and specifically more than it already does - and does a lot already - on the road to peace," he said.

Mr Hague stopped short of calling for an international investigation, but called on Israel to a "credible and transparent" investigation to accept.

"We believe there should be an international presence on the minimum value in this investigation or the investigation," he said.

The BBC's Christian Fraser in Paris, says Mr Hague will be the same message as his Rome, Berlin and Warsaw later this week visiting key.

Earlier, the UN proposals for an international probe hardened, and their plans to the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

But Israel's U.S. ambassador Michael Oren said his country would reject the proposals and reiterated that an internal investigation would be held.

He said that Israel would not apologize for the incident in which eight Turkish citizens and a joint US-Turkish nationals were slain by Israeli commandos.
"State Terrorism"

One of the groups that support has helped to organize the mission to Gaza, Turkish-based IHH, new photos released of the incident on Sunday.

The images show battered and bloodied Israeli commandos surrounded by protesters at the Mavi Marmara Turkish ship, heading to Gaza as part of a flotilla aid.
The IHH apparently hoped that the images would show how the activists had medical attention paid to the affected Israelis when they were attacked.

But Israel said that the back-up views of her version of events: that the troops were attacked by "extremists" and acted in self-defense.

Turkey has strongly criticized Israel over the killings, with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan labeling the command operation "state terrorism".

Mahmoud Abbas, who heads the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, a visit to Turkey on Monday and intends to pay his respects to the dead activists.

His government is the bitter rival of Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, Mr. Abbas of the Fatah movement in 2007.

Israel - the most access to Gaza, controlled since withdrawing troops and settlers in 2005 - tightened the blockade of the Gaza Strip after the Hamas takeover.