Turks Take Flotilla Attack Case to ICC

The families of the victims of Israel’s maritime attack on a Gaza aid convoy in May are set to take the case to the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Reports say they will file a lawsuit at the court in The Hague against Israel on Thursday.

On May 31, Israeli navy commandos stormed the Turkish-organized Gaza Freedom Flotilla from dinghies and helicopters as the civilian fleet was in international waters.

The attack left nine Turkish activists, including a Turkish-American teenager, dead and more than 50 others wounded onboard the six-vessel Flotilla.

In the face of widespread condemnation of the bloody onslaught, Israel defended the move by its army forces, claiming their use of deadly force was an act of "self-defense."

But a report by a fact-finding committee mandated by the UN Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR) to probe the events surrounding the Flotilla attack charged Tel Aviv last month with violating international law and the human rights of the activists on board the convoy.

The UNCHR adopted the conclusions arrived at by the committee with 30 nations voting in favor and 15 states abstaining — despite opposition from the United States, which became the only state to vote against the UN report.

The Human Rights Commission concluded that Israel’s siege on Gaza is illegal because of the humanitarian crisis it causes for the impoverished population living in the enclave. It also condemned the Israeli attack on the Flotilla as "brutal and disproportionate."

The Gaza Freedom Flotilla was carrying 10,000 tons of aid supplies and 700 international activists to the blockaded Gaza Strip when it was attacked in the Mediterranean sea.

(Press TV)

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