Turkey May Indict Israeli Generals Over Flotilla Raid

[azurnoir]

Source: NYT

Turkey’s semiofficial Anatolia News Agency said the prosecutor, Mehmet Akif Ekinci, had prepared a 144-page indictment package that would seek life imprisonment for Gabi Ashkenazi, the former chief of general staff for the Israel Defense Forces; Vice Adm. Eliezer Marom, former commander of naval forces; Gen. Amos Yadlin, the former military intelligence chief; and Brig. Gen. Avishai Levy, the former head of air force intelligence.

<snip>

A six-vessel convoy, led by the passenger ship Mavi Marmara sailing under the Turkish flag, was stopped by Israeli commandos in international waters as it headed toward the coast of Gaza with what activists described as a cargo of emergency relief to help Gaza’s Palestinian population cope with an Israeli-imposed embargo.

Israel asserted that it had the legal right to stop the activists from violating the embargo, which was intended to prevent shipments of weapons to Palestinian militants.

The nine activists killed included eight Turks and an American of Turkish descent. A United Nations report on the raid released last September concluded that Israel had been within its legal rights to stop the flotilla but had used excessive and unreasonable force.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/24/world/middleeast/turkey-may-indict-israeli-generals-over-flotilla-raid.html

[Poll_Blind]

1. Very interesting story on a couple of points, not the least of which is...

...the future of NATO and the role of Turkey and Israel within it. Often overlooked, this has put the US in a bit of tightrope walking when it comes to the situation. I have little doubt that a leftwing Israeli government not only would not have intentionally exacerbated the situation by carrying out the raid in such a manner that it would have killed so many innocents, but that they certainly would have been mindful enough to understand how far an apology and compensation could go toward achieving their dreams of entering NATO.

In fact, only an absolute asshole like Netanyahu would not see that. Sadly, they've chosen to vilify Turkey in every way possible which, while indicative of Natanyahu's conservative Israeli government, does nothing to actually advance Israel as a nation.

It's ridiculous that this thing has been left to fester on such as it has.

PB

[bemildred]

2. Interesting, thanks. nt

[Scurrilous]

3. K & R

[Fozzledick]

4. Turkish terrorists committed an unprovoked act of war against Israel

and they're still whining because their ambush backfired.

If they had any decency they'd indict Erdogan for ordering this atrocity in the first place.