Int’l Criminal Court opens investigation of Gaza flotilla fiasco

International Criminal Court’s prosecutor obliged to open investigation after request from Comoros, an Indian Ocean island nation, to which one of the vessels Israel raided in 2010 was registered.

Few preliminary probes lead to a full investigation, let alone trial.

By Reuters

The International Criminal Court’s prosecutor said on Tuesday she would open a preliminary examination into the events surrounding the 2010 Israel Navy raid on a Turkish-flagged aid flotilla to the Gaza Strip.

Mavi Marmara AP 22.5.10

Mavi Marmara taken on May 22, 2010 – Photo: AP

 

Nine Turkish citizens died during the raid on the flotilla, which set out from Turkey to the Gaza.

The prosecutor said in a statement she was obliged to open a preliminary examination following a referral from the Indian Ocean island nation of Comoros, to which one of the vessels raided was registered. Few preliminary examinations ever lead to a full investigation, let alone a trial.

“My office will be conducting a preliminary examination in order to establish whether the criteria for opening an investigation are met,” she said in response to the referral, which was transmitted by a Turkish law firm.

 

Israel-Turkey talks

Earlier this month, a second round of reconciliation talks between Israel and Turkey took place in Jerusalem, after which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bureau announced that a draft agreement had been formulated “but a number of clarifications are needed on a few issues.”

These issues include payment of compensation to the families of the victims of the flotilla raid.

The negotiations for reconciliation between the two former allies began in April, exactly a month after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and apologized for the fatal raid.

During that conversation, which was endorsed by U.S. President Barack Obama, the two prime ministers agreed to restore normal relations between their countries and return their ambassadors to each other’s countries.

 

View original HAARETZ publication at: http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/international-criminal-court-opens-initial-probe-into-gaza-flotilla-raid-1.524074