Three Spaniards arrested in a raid by Israeli commandos on a Gaza-bound humanitarian aid convoy are filing suits against the Israeli prime minister and other officials, the BBC has said.
The Israeli military stormed the six-ship Freedom Flotilla in neutral waters in the Mediterranean Sea on May 31. Nine activists were killed in the raid and several hundreds were arrested and deported.
Two Spanish activists and a journalist accuse Benjamin Netanyahu, six Israeli ministers and the navy commander of illegal detention, torture and deportation, the British broadcaster said. Spanish courts are yet to accept the case, it said.
On Friday, Israeli media reports said the country's government agreed to release three Turkish ships that had been seized in the raid.
The Turkey-led convoy was trying to take 10,000 tons of aid to the enclave, which has been under an Israeli blockade for the past three years.
Israel has justified the attack, saying its soldiers were forced to open fire at the aid workers after being attacked with knives and metal poles. The flotilla's passengers say they were fired at without provocation.
Another attempt by Arab supporters to break the Israeli blockade failed earlier in July, when the Israeli Navy blocked the route of a vessel carrying humanitarian aid from Libya to Gaza.
Israel had warned that it would not allow ships to approach Gaza. The Israeli authorities fear they may carry arms intended for Palestinian militants.
MOSCOW, July 24 (RIA Novosti)
