Israeli media is reporting that the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court has rejected an order for her to reconsider the decision to close her initial probe and reopen the investigation into the deaths of Turkish citizens during the 2010 Gaza flotilla. The Times of Israel report begins:
July 27, 2015, The International Criminal Court’s prosecutor Fatou Bensouda rejected an order for her to reconsider the decision to close her initial probe of the case and reopen the investigation into the deaths of 10 Turkish citizens aboard a Gaza blockade-busting ship in 2010.
In response, the Israeli Foreign Ministry released a statement, signaling approval of ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda’s decision to appeal the order by a three-judge panel to reconsider her closing of the investigation.
‘The ICC never had any business to deal with this event to begin with,’ an Israeli official said. ‘Israel acted out of self-defense according to international law.’
The Israeli raid on the Gaza-bound vessel in May 2010 led to a bloody clash with activists aboard the ship, leaving 10 Turks dead and a number of Israeli soldiers injured.
The incident was initially probed by an Israeli committee headed by jurist Jacob Turkel with the participation of international observers, the Israeli official noted.
There was no official word from the ICC, but a document shared on Twitter and signed by Bensouda, calling for the probe to be closed, seemed to confirm the report.
Bensouda was asked earlier in July to reconsider her decision last year to close the probe, despite saying there was a possibility that war crimes were committed.
Read the rest here.
In 2011, the GMBDW Editor published a report titled “Turkey, the Global Muslim Brotherhood, and the Gaza Flotilla” which demonstrated that the Global Muslim Brotherhood, including at that time its Turkish components, was deeply involved in the planning and preparation leading up to the first Gaza flotilla that was involved in the violent altercation with Israeli naval forces.