Turkish Paper Names Israelis It Says Were in Flotilla Raid

By SEBNEM ARSU

ISTANBUL — A Turkish newspaper published the names and photographs on Monday of more than 140 Israeli soldiers who the paper said took part in the raid on a Turkish flotilla to Gaza last year that ended with the death of nine passengers and created a diplomatic standoff between Turkey and Israel.

The newspaper, Sabah, said the Turkish government began searching for the soldiers’ identities after the Israeli authorities failed to cooperate in an investigation that prosecutors in Turkey said could lead to legal action.

The newspaper report received scant attention in Israel, where officials declined to comment. Others there described it as a recycled conglomeration of similar lists that have been circulating on the Internet.

Television analysts in Israel noted that the list included some well-known Israeli figures who had long since left the military, which they said gave some indication of its accuracy. There is, however, real concern in Israel about Turkey’s threats of legal action over the raid.

The newspaper, a pro-government daily, reported that a senior Turkish prosecutor had authorized the investigation, which filtered all available film and other visuals from the flotilla raid for facial images that could be matched to photographs on social networks like Facebook and Twitter.

Some of the names, Sabah said, were provided by flotilla passengers who were interrogated by the Israelis after the lead ship was towed in May 2010 to the port of Ashdod, in Israel. Others were gleaned from public postings and the Web links they contained.

Sabah said the list would be forwarded to the Israeli military for confirmation before any legal action was taken in Turkey or abroad.

The Turkish government holds Israel responsible for the deaths of the nine passengers. The Israeli government has refused to officially apologize for the raid on the flotilla, which was trying to break Israel’s blockade of Gaza. Turkey has said an apology is a condition for the normalization of relations, and it is demanding that Israel provide compensation for relatives of the dead and that it lift the Gaza embargo.

Turkey, which has downgraded diplomatic ties with Israel and expelled the Israeli ambassador in Ankara, the capital, says it is prepared to seek legal action against the Gaza blockade in the International Court of Justice.

Isabel Kershner contributed reporting from Jerusalem.

via Turkish Paper Names Israelis It Says Were in Flotilla Raid – NYTimes.com.