ICC panel orders prosecutor to reconsider Mavi Marmara war crimes probe

A preliminary investigation into the incident was closed in November.

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JERUSALEM (JTA) — The International Criminal Court has ordered a prosecutor to reconsider her decision not to investigate war crimes allegations in the Mavi Marmara flotilla case.

On Thursday, an ICC panel of judges in a 2-1 vote said the prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, must reconsider the decision “as soon as possible.”

The panel was responding to a request by the Comoros Islands, an ICC member, to investigate the May 2010 incident in which nine Turkish passengers, including one U.S. citizen, were killed in clashes with Israeli commandos who had boarded the Mavi Marmara. The ship was registered to the Comoros.

Last November, the court in The Hague closed a preliminary investigation into the incident. Bensouda said at the time that any cases relating to Israel’s boarding of the ship “would not be of sufficient gravity to justify further action by the ICC.”

Israel is not a member of the ICC.

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