The UN Security Council met in emergency session Monday less than 24 hours after Israel's lethal military operation against a humanitarian aid flotilla off the coast of Gaza, dpa reported.
According to French diplomatic sources, the Council sought consensus on a statement to condemn the attack. It was not seeking a resolution, which would be binding on all parties involved.
At least nine civilians died and 30 more were seriously injured when the Israeli military boarded the boats which were seeking to run the Israeli blockade on Gaza. Israel said its soldiers were attacked by weapons.
Behind closed doors, all 15 Security Council members were expected to express their views on the bloody Mediterranean incident. Israeli and Palestinian representatives would also be heard, officials said.
Before the session, Riyad Mansour, the permanent observer of Palestine to the United Nations, said the attack was a "massacre" and a crime "against international law and international humanitarian law."
He asked the Security Council to order an independent international investigation on the incident. The investigation, he noted, should bring those responsible for the attack before the courts.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, in Uganda, also called for a "full investigation to determine exactly how this bloodshed took place."
Lebanon's Nawaf Salam, elected in May as Security Council president, called the meeting at Turkey's request, diplomats said. The United Nations headquarters in New York were officially closed Monday, for the US Memorial Day public holiday.
According to the UN Charter, the Security Council is responsible for peace and security around the world.
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