There is something to be said for keeping the case of the Israeli assault on the Mavi Marmara, the Turkish vessel trying to carry humanitarian aid for Gaza through the Israeli blockade, in the public eye, particularly when Israel has decided not to honor any effort to investigate the case other than its own. Three of the ships passengers have decided that legal action may provide a viable alternative to stalled diplomacy. Here are the opening paragraphs of the report that was filed on the BBC News Web site this morning:
Two Spanish activists and a journalist arrested in a raid by Israel on a Gaza-bound flotilla are filing charges against Israel's prime minister.
The three accuse Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, six cabinet ministers and the navy commander of illegal detention, torture and deportation.
This is the sort of action that, under other circumstances, would be dismissed as frivolous; but, as they say, desperate times call for desperate measures. In this case those measures amount to the transformation of frivolity into chutzpah. It is now up to the Spanish judicial system to decide whether or not this case should be accepted; but, since it has been filed on grounds of contravening international law, those making the case deserve a Chutzpah of the Week award for their innovative approach to bringing the Israeli government to account in a manner beyond the scope of any internal investigation.
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