By YAAKOV KATZ
26/09/2011
After Turkish news reports claim intelligence agencies complied list identifying 174 soldiers, IDF takes legal precautions.

The IDF is taking legal precautions to protect soldiers and officers who participated in the operation to stop the Mavi Marmara Turkish passenger ship, senior defense officials said on Monday after Turkish news reports claimed intelligence agencies had compiled a list identifying 174 soldiers who could be prosecuted for their involvement in the operation.

The Istanbul Deputy Public Prosecutor Ates Shasan Sozen later told the Today's Zaman that the list was compiled by IHH, the organization that organized the Gaza Flotilla and not by Turkish intelligence.

Earlier Monday, the Sabah newspaper wrote that the names were acquired by Turkish intelligence agencies which had studied social connections on Facebook and Twitter, as well as photographs on those websites with ones taken on board the Marmara.

The list of 174 names was transferred to Turkish prosecutors, in addition to pictures of 10 IDF soldiers the paper said could not be identified. Included on the list were not only those IDF soldiers who participated directly in the operation to stop the Gaza Flotilla, but also senior IDF officers.

The list reportedly includes commandos from the Navy's Flotilla 13 - better known as the Shayetet - as well as their commanders, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman and Defense Minister Ehud Barak.

Earlier this month, the IDF Military Advocate General's office established a joint team with the Justice Ministry to study the Palmer Report which had justified Israel’s decision to impose a sea blockade on the Gaza Strip but also harshly criticized the navy’s operation to stop the Gaza-bound flotilla.

The report said that “the loss of life and injuries resulting from the use of force by Israeli forces during the takeover of the Mavi Marmara was unacceptable.”

The team is studying the legal consequences of the report and possible ways to provide protections to IDF soldiers. Due to this threat, Ehud Barak had tried to broker a compromise with Turkey in an effort to minimize the legal exposure to the commandos.

A senior IDF officer said at the time that the Palmer Report could potentially serve as the basis for criminal lawsuits against the commandos who boarded the ship as well as additional senior IDF officers, including commander of the navy V.-Adm. Eliezer Marom and the chief of General Staff at the time, Lt.- Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi, for their role in the operation.

Both officers are already vulnerable to legal action due to their involvement in Operation Cast Lead in the Gaza Strip two years ago.

Israel must investigate if Turkey does in fact have names of commando's that took part in the raid. If proven to be true, then Israel must investigate the source of how this information was given to the Turks.

Once it has been determined the name(s) of the source of the information these people must be arrested and dealt with. Part of me thinks elimination of these people would be justified, but the other part favors a court trial. The problem with a trial is that the death penalty could not come into play.