Reconciliation between Israel and Turkey will have to wait: A court in Turkey ordered the arrest of four former senior IDF officials on Monday afternoon, in response to the Mavi Marmara flotilla incidents. The court submitted a request to Interpol to issue a "red arrest warrant" against the four, who are being tried in their absence, and to extradite them.
Interpol has not yet responded to the request.
According to the court, the four - former Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. (res.) Gabi Ashkenazi, former Navy Commander Maj. Gen. (res.) Eliezer Marom (Cheney), former Intelligence Chief Maj. Gen. (res.) Amos Yadlin, and former Air Force Intelligence Chief Brigadier General (res.) Avishai Levy - were allegedly involved in the raid by IDF soldiers on the ship in May 2010.
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The court claimed that the arrest warrant was necessary due to legal proceedings, because the defendants did not appear in court nor did they respond to the summons sent to them through the relevant department of the Turkish Ministry of Justice.
The Turkish Public Prosecutor's Office demanded life imprisonment for the four for their role in the naval forces' raid on the IHH organization's ship, during which nine Turkish activists who attacked IDF soldiers were killed.
The prosecution of the four senior officials contradicts the understandings between Israel and Turkey as part of the compensation agreement, which has been in advanced negotiations for its formulation in recent months. The parties are still at odds over the final amount of compensation.
