Gaza ship raid: Turkey considers dropping charges against Israelis

A Turkish prosecutor has called for charges to be withdrawn in relation to the Israeli raid on the Mavi Marmara flotilla carrying aid to Gaza in 2010 following a reconciliation deal between Turkey and Israel, state media reported on Friday.

The prosecutor told an Istanbul court that the case against the Israelis should be dropped because of the agreement between the two states, state-run news agency Anadolu said.

The demand is likely to anger families and lawyers, who told AFP in October that they had no intention of dropping the lawsuits despite the deal.

Thirteen Israeli commandos boarded the Mavi Marmara, killing nine Turkish activists: a 10th died in 2014, after being in a coma for four years. They initially used riot-dispersal gear and then quickly switched to live fire against what Israel described as armed opposition.

At the time Benjamin Netanyahu praised and saluted the commandos, saying they acted "courageously, morally and with restraint’’, Reuters reported.

After several rounds of secret talks, the two states reached an agreement in June: Israel apologised for the raid and offered $20 million in compensation. Israel also agreed to allow Turkish aid to reach Gaza as part of the deal.

Both sides also agreed that Israeli citizens or those acting on behalf of the Israeli government would not be held accountable - either criminally or financially - for the raid.

Gaza has been under an Israeli military siege since 2007, after Hamas was elected to rule the territory. Residents are struggling to cope with a crippled economy and stalled reconstruction following the 2014 50-day assault by Israel, the third and most devastating attack on Gaza since 2008. 

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Turkish prosecutors had been seeking life sentences for the alleged involvement of former Israeli military chief of staff Gabi Ashkenazi, former navy chief Eliezer Marom, former military intelligence head Amos Yadlin and former air force intelligence chief Avishai Levy, who went on trial in absentia in 2012.

One of the key points to normalising relations between the two states was the exchange of ambassadors, which will formally take place this month.

Israel's envoy Eitan Naeh arrived in Ankara on Thursday, and is due to present his letter of credentials to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan within days.

Meanwhile Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim's policy advisor Kemal Okem will start work as Turkey's ambassador to Israel on December 12, Anadolu said on Friday.