The pressure by the US must have been intense for Prime Minister Netanyahu to give in on cooperating with the historically anti-Israel UN in their investigation of the Gaza flotilla incident:

On Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu informed Ban that Israel would participate in the U.N. probe after being assured the panel would be fair.

"Israel has nothing to hide. The opposite is true. It is in the national interest of the state of Israel to ensure that the factual truth of the overall flotilla events comes to light throughout the world," Netanyahu said in a statement.

Susan Rice, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said the U.N. panel would complement domestic investigations being carried out by Israel and Turkey. In a statement, she expressed hope the U.N. probe would "enable Israel and Turkey to move beyond the recent strains in their relationship.''

An Israeli official said Israel's decision to participate was driven in large part by its desire to repair ties with Turkey, an important Israeli ally in the Middle East.

What good will come from this move is hard to fathom. If the Israelis think it will placate Prime Minister Erdogan of Turkey, the opposite will be true. Erdogan has now made it the official policy of his party and government to align itself with Iran against Israel. Erdogan has also swung his party toward a definite Islamist agenda at home and abroad. Where his steps toward Sharia were tentative in the first years of his time in office, he has picked up the pace of his efforts to Islamize the Turkish state in recent months and part of that strategy has been for Turkey to distance itself from its longtime ally Israel.

Perhaps Netanyahu is looking toward the Turkish elections next year where it is thought Erdogan may be in some trouble. If the Israeli PM is sending a message to the Turkish opposition, that may explain his sudden about face on cooperating with the UN.