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ICC Orders Reopening of Flotilla Case against IDF

CBN

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JERUSALEM, Israel -- The International Criminal Court ordered its prosecutor to reconsider war crime allegations against the Israel Defense Forces for the 2010 conflagration aboard the Turkish-owned flagship Mavi Marmara.

Seven months after the ICC's chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda closed the file against the IDF, the court voted 2-1 to consider reopening the indictment, The Jerusalem Post reported on Friday.

The court instructed Bensouda to reconsider whether the nine Turkish activists killed during the confrontation "resulted from a deliberate plan or policy to attack, kill or injure civilians."

Israeli naval commandos attempted to board the vessel after the captain refused to change course and sail to the Ashdod port, where the cargo would have been inspected and delivered to the Gaza Strip by land transport.

About 40 activists, armed with knives, stun grenades, chains, and metal pipes attacked the soldiers as they touched down on deck. The soldiers resorted to live ammunition when it became clear their lives were endangered. 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu slammed the decision.

"IDF soldiers acted in self-defense in stopping an attempt to break through the maritime closure that was carried out in accordance with international law as determined by a committee appointed by the U.N. Secretary General, a commission headed by a Supreme Court judge and international observers," Netanyahu said in a statement issued Thursday evening.

"At a time when Assad in Syria is slaughtering tens of thousands of his own people, when Iran is executing hundreds and Hamas in Gaza is using children as human shields, the court chooses to deal with Israel for cynical political reasons," he charged.

"Against this hypocrisy, our soldiers will continue to protect us in the field and we will defend them in the international arena," the prime minister vowed.

Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nachshon said Israel "harshly rejects" the court's about face.

"Israel had acted in self-defense and in line with international law," Nachshon said.

"It is not clear why the court stubbornly persists in directing resources to superfluous work relating to complaints with cynical political motivations, instead of working on issues for which it was established," such as mass killings," he said, adding that Israel expected the prosecutor to uphold her decision to close the file.

Some say the ICC may be preparing to accept the Palestinian Authority's petition to bring criminal charges against Israel for Operation Protective Edge, last summer's military incursion in the Gaza Strip against Hamas rocket fire and terror tunnels dug under Israel's border.

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