A Turkish court has dropped a case against four Israeli military officials charged over a deadly raid on a ship in an aid flotilla bound for Gaza in 2010, BBC reported.
According to a lawyer for the victims, arrest warrants for the four were also dropped.
Ten Turkish humanitarian activists were killed as a result of a raid staged by Israeli commandos after they stormed Mavi Marmara, the lead ship in the convoy to Gaza.
“Dropping the charges was a key part of a deal agreed between Israel and Turkey this June to normalize bilateral ties,” BBC reported.
Israel-Turkey deal stands in way of justice for families of those killed aboard Mavi Marmara https://t.co/TZxZeQLWPM
— Electronic Intifada (@intifada) December 11, 2016
“Under a deal reached this year, Israel agreed to pay $20m in compensation to the victims of the raid. In return, Israeli nationals would not be held criminally or financially liable for the incident.”
It further stated, “The officials, including former military chief of staff Gabi Ashkenazi, went on trial in absentia in 2012. The deal allowed Turkey and Israel to restore normal relations in June, mending a six-year rift that followed the flotilla incident.”
To show their dissatisfaction with the court decision, lawyers for the victims families tore pictures of the accused Israelis into pieces after the court dropped the case.
Families of victims and their supporters also staged protests in various parts of the country urging the government to put justice for their sons before politics.
(BBC, PC, Social Media)
The peaceful flotilla was not armed. The Israelis knew that but lied and said they were armed. There wasn’t any reason to kill anyone but it stopped the ships trying to break through the blockade that Israel has on Gaza.