Turkey halts case over Israeli raid on Gaza flotilla that killed 10 people

The case was brought on behalf of victims of the raid

The Mavi Marmara pictured in 2010 (Emrah Dalkaya/Reuters)

A Turkish court has halted a case brought by victims of the Israeli raid on the Mavi Marmara aid ship that killed 10 people.

A lawyer for the victims' families said the case was stopped on Friday following a deal in June designed to restore ties between Turkey and Israel.

Israeli-Turkish relations broke down in 2010 when Turkish pro-Palestinian activists were killed by Israeli commandos enforcing a naval blockade of the Gaza Strip.

The soldiers had raided a ship, the Mavi Marmara, leading a flotilla to the Hamas Islamist-run Palestinian territory.

Israel agreed to pay out $20m (£16m) to the families of those killed on the vessel, a crucial element in the restoration of ties.

The summer's rare rapprochement in the divided Middle East was driven as much by the prospect of lucrative Mediterranean gas deals as by mutual concern over growing security risks.

The case was brought on behalf of victims of the Israeli raid, with Israel's chief of staff, naval commander, head of intelligence for the air force and head of military intelligence - all absent from the court - as the defendants.

At the final hearing on Friday, too many of the plaintiffs' lawyers and victims' families had gathered to fit in the courtroom. Tensions rose when some were not allowed inside, leading to protests and shouts of 'Allahu akbar' (God is greatest).

The judge called in the riot police to remove one co-plaintiff who refused to leave the courtroom. The families of the victims and lawyers chanted in protest and walked out before the verdict was read.

Prosecutor Huseyin Aslan argued that the case had no legal foundation after Turkey and Israel's deal, according to broadcaster CNN Turk.

Israel had demanded that its military officers and government officials be indemnified against prosecution on war crimes allegations. With Friday's court decision, arrest warrants for the four Israeli defendants have been lifted.

The Independent reported in October that families feared the case would be dropped after the deal.

Agencies contributed to this piece