Turkish Court Order Arrest of ’Israeli’ Military Chiefs over Flotilla Massacre

Local Editor

A Turkish court on Monday ordered the arrest of four former "Israeli" military chiefs over 2010 maritime massacre that plunged relations between the former allies into crisis, a lawyer working on the case said.

The court will ask Interpol to issue international arrest warrants for the four men, lawyer Cihat Gokdemir said.
No one at the "Israeli" embassy in Ankara was immediately available for comment.
Turkish prosecutors are seeking life sentences for the commanders, who went on trial in absentia in 2012.

They are former military chief of staff Gaby Ashkenazi, former navy chief Eliezer Marom, former military intelligence head Amos Yadlin and former air force intelligence chief Avishai Levy.

"Israeli" commandos boarded the Turkish-flagged Mavi Marmara, the largest ship in a flotilla dispatched by Turkish relief agency IHH to break "Israel's" blockade of the Gaza Strip, on May 31, 2010, shooting dead nine Turkish activists.
The assault sparked widespread condemnation and provoked a major diplomatic crisis between Turkey and the Zionist entity.

Ankara expelled the "Israeli" ambassador, demanded a formal apology and compensation, and an end to the blockade on the Gaza Strip.
IHH together with the victims' families brought a criminal case against the four "Israeli" ex-military chiefs after the maritime assault.

Talks on compensation began a year ago after "Israel" extended a formal apology to Turkey in a breakthrough brokered by US President Barack Obama.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in April he was prepared to normalize ties with Tel Aviv.

Authorities had said recently they were close to a deal that would see "Israel" pay compensation for the deaths, but Tel Aviv said this was conditional on the lawsuits against its soldiers being dropped.
"We will not drop the lawsuits. We believe criminals must be put on trial," Serkan Nergis, spokesman for the Humanitarian Relief Foundation [IHH], stated.
"Even if we do give up, victims' families will not," he said.

Turkish media have said that any deal with "Israel" would have the status of an international agreement and would give the Israeli military immunity from any liability over the assault.
Under the Turkish constitution, international treaties take precedence over domestic law if there is a disagreement.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team