US declines to apportion blame after Israeli raid

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WASHINGTON — The White House declined Tuesday to specifically condemn Israel for its raid on a humanitarian flotilla, but said it showed Middle East peace moves were now needed more than ever.

Asked if President Barack Obama condemned Israel for the raid, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs stuck to the language of a UN Security Council statement issued late Sunday on the Israeli assault on a convoy headed to Gaza.

The statement condemns “those acts which resulted in the loss of at least ten civilians and many wounded,” but did not specifically say whether the Israeli raid or actions of pro-Palestinians supporters caused the violence.

“Let me simply restate what the international community and the United States supported early this morning at the UN Security Council through a presidential statement,” Gibbs said.

“The Security Council statement that I read calls for an investigation that is prompt, impartial, credible and transparent, conforming to international standards, of exactly what happened,” Gibbs said. “And we’re obviously supportive of that.”

Gibbs repeated Washington was working with Israel to discuss alleviating the humanitarian consequences of the Gaza blockade, and said the incident showed a Middle East peace plan was needed “more than ever.”

This video is from CNN’s Newsroom, broadcast June 1, 2010.

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