Court seeks life for Israeli troops over flotilla deaths

A Turkish court has approved an indictment seeking multiple life sentences for four former Israeli military commanders over their alleged involvement in the 2010 killing of nine Turks on a Gaza-bound aid ship, state media reported.

The indictment, prepared by Istanbul state prosecutor Mehmet Akif Ekinci, was submitted to the court last week and its approval marks the start of a trial in absentia against the men.

Relations between Turkey and Israel deteriorated sharply after Israeli commandos raided the Mavi Marmara aid vessel in May 2010 to enforce a naval blockade of the Gaza Strip. Turkey expelled Israel’s ambassador and froze all military cooperation after a UN report into the incident released last September largely exonerated the Jewish state.