Despite the fact that international prosecutors in the Hague say they believe Israeli soldiers committed war crimes during a raid that killed nine Turkish pro-Palestinian provocateurs in 2010, the same prosecutors will not investigate the case, according to Reuters.
The confrontation took place on deck of the Mavi Marmara, one of the boats sailing in a flotilla challenging an Israeli naval blockade of the Gaza Strip.
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The Turkish government is not likely to receive this news quietly.Turkey accused Israel of mass murder after the event in which IDF soldiers shot into the crowd of Turks and Arabs who were beating them with metal rods and bats as they descended, one at a time, from a helicopter.
“The information available provides a reasonable basis to believe that war crimes under the Court’s jurisdiction have been committed in the context of interception and takeover of the Mavi Marmara by IDF (Israeli Defence Forces) soldiers on 31 May 2010, ” read the paper seen b y Reuters on Wednesday.
But the same paper says the crimes in question were not sufficiently serious to fall under the court’s jurisdiction.
However, to make sure this decision is by no means an exoneration of Israel, the paper notes: “Not having collected evidence itself, the Office’s analysis in this report must therefore not be considered to be the result of an investigation.”
According to Reuters, the International court has no jurisdiction over crimes in Turkey or Israel, since neither is a member of the court. However, one of the vessels, the Mavi Marmara, was registered to the Comoros Islands, in Indian Ocean, and they are members.
The Hague-based court’s mandate is to investigate international atrocities, including crimes against humanity and genocide, when local authorities have failed to prosecute them.
Lawyers representing the Comoros government said they would apply to judges for a review of the decision not to proceed, Reuters reported.
