Gaza Latest: Aid Ship Docks in Egypt but 3 International Investigations on the Way

The Amalthea, carrying aid, entered Egypt's el-Arish port on Wednesday despite the call of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh to break the siege of Gaza, "The sea and land convoys must continue. We hope we can depend on Islamic nations to help us lift the blockade."

Following the Amalthea's docking in el-Arish, Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Dan Meridor restated:

Gaza Latest: Is Aid Ship On Its Way or Going Back to Egypt?

Anyone who wants to bring materials there which are not dangerous materials - munitions, etcetera - can bring them through El Arish, can bring them through the [Israeli] port of Ashdod.

What we want is to set the arrangement for inspections, so we can always check and not allow them to bust their way in.

Then Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon announced that Israel can consider itself "victorious" in the Libyan ship incident. He said that calls by the European Union and the US for the ship to follow Israel's instructions and not sail to Gaza are a good sign.

However, West Jerusalem's problems may just be starting. Haaretz reports that there will be several meetings amongst high-ranked officials this week Israel's official response to the United Nations' enquiries. Following the Goldstone Report on the Gaza War, Israel faces three new international investigations. Some officials described the situation  as a "barrage".

The most significant enquiry is that of the UN committee charged with examining the credibility of Israel's court system in the wake of the Goldstone Report . Haaretz's Barak Ravid reports:

The inquiry into the Israeli court system was decided on at a March meeting of the UNHRC [UN Human Rights Commission] in Geneva as part of its continuing effort to monitor Israel's response to the Goldstone report. The panel is charged with examining the efficiency, independence, and professionalism of Israel's court system and its adherence to internationally accepted standards. Some Israeli officials have already begun describing it as "a second Goldstone committee."

The committee headed by the German jurist Christian Tomuschat is tasked with monitoring any legal steps taken by the Israeli or Palestinian authorities to implement the Goldstone Report's recommendations. It should begin its work in the next few weeks and submit a final report in October.

Israel's official response to the Goldstone report has been negative, labelling it as "one-sided, legitimizing terrorism". So, if the Netanyahu government decides to cooperate with the Tomuschat committee, it will be a change in strategy.

Two other international committees, one appointed by the UN Secretary General and the other by the UN Human Rights Council, are set to begin work over Israel's May raid on the Gaza-bound Freedom Flotilla.

Middle East Inside Line: US Secretly Pledges Sale of Nuclear Technology to Israel (Ha'aretz)

Hmm... Here's one aspect of this week's talks between President Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that you may not have noticed. From the Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz and reporter Barak Ravid:

Israel's Army Radio reported on Wednesday that the United States has sent Israel a secret document committing to nuclear cooperation between the two countries.

Israel-US Analysis: Netanyahu Wins — 1, 2, 3, 4 Times — in Talks With Obama (Yenidunya)
Israel Video & Transcript: The Netanyahu-Obama Meeting (6 July)

According to Army Radio, the U.S. has reportedly pledged to sell Israel materials used to produce electricity, as well as nuclear technology and other supplies, despite the fact that Israel is not a signatory of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Other countries have refused to cooperate with Israel on nuclear matters because it has not signed the NPT, and there has been increasing international pressure for Israel to be more transparent about its nuclear arsenal.

During Tuesday's meeting between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. President Barack Obama, the two leaders discussed the global challenge of nuclear proliferation and the need to strengthen the nonproliferation system.

They also discussed calls for a conference on a nuclear-free Middle East, which was peoposed during the 2010 Non-Proliferation Treaty (NTP) review conference in New York and which Netanyahu said he would not take part in because it intends to single out Israel.

Obama informed Netanyahu that, as a co-sponsor charged with enabling the proposed conference, the United States will insist that such a conference have a broad agenda to include regional security issues, verification and compliance and discussion of all types of weapons of mass destruction.

Obama emphasized the conference will only take place if all countries "feel confident that they can attend," and said that efforts to single out Israel would make the prospects of such a conference unlikely.

The two leaders agreed to work together to oppose efforts to single out Israel at the IAEA General Conference in September.

Obama emphasized that the U.S. will continue to work closely with Israel to ensure that arms control initiatives and policies do not detract from Israel’s security, and "support our common efforts to strengthen international peace and stability."