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Turkish Court Drops Case against «Israelis» over Gaza Flotilla Raid

Turkish Court Drops Case against «Israelis» over Gaza Flotilla Raid
folder_openTurkey access_time7 years ago
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Local Editor

An Istanbul court on Friday dropped the case against four top former "Israeli" commanders who were being tried in absentia over a 2010 deadly "Israeli" Occupation Forces [IOF] raid on a Gaza-bound ship, Turkey's state-run Anadolu Agency reported.

Turkish Court Drops Case against «Israelis» over Gaza Flotilla Raid

An arrest warrant for the four was also withdrawn, Gulden Sonmez, a lawyer representing those on board during the raid, wrote on Twitter after a closed door hearing in Istanbul.

Nine Turkish activists were killed by "Israeli" commandos who were attacked when they boarded the Mavi Marmara ship as it tried to breach the maritime blockade on the Gaza Strip in May 2010, and a 10th died in hospital in 2014.

The raid exacerbated an already frosty relationship, with both countries withdrawing their respective ambassadors from the country capitals, though diplomatic ties were never fully severed.

Prosecutors had been seeking life sentences for the involvement of former IOF chief of staff Gabi Ashkenazi, former navy chief Eliezer Marom, former military intelligence head Amos Yadlin and former Air Force intelligence chief Avishai Levy, who were all put on trial in absentia in 2012.

The bitter rift between Ankara and Tel Aviv came to an end in June this year after the once-close allies held long-running secret talks in third countries, with the "Israeli" entity offering an apology over the raid and $20 million in compensation. The entity also agreed to allow Turkish aid to reach Gaza as part of the agreement.

The Istanbul court ruling came exactly a week after a Turkish prosecutor called for the charges to be dropped following the diplomatic reconciliation.

Under the terms of the rapprochement, both sides also agreed individual "Israelis" or those acting on behalf of the "Israeli" regime would not be held liable - either criminally or financially - for the raid.

One of the final key elements of returning to normal relations was the exchange of ambassadors; the "Israeli" entity's new envoy Eitan Na'eh arrived in Ankara earlier this month, where he presented his credentials to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The normalization of ties between Turkey and the apartheid "Israeli" entity also entailed the posting of ambassadors. The entity's first ambassador to Turkey since the rupture in the relations, which saw Ankara expelling the previous envoy, commenced his work on Monday.

Meanwhile, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim's policy advisor Kemal Okem will start work as Turkey's ambassador to the "Israeli" entity on December 12, Anadolu said last week.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team

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