List names Israelis in flotilla incident

ANKARA, Turkey, Sept. 26 (UPI) -- Turkey says it has identified 174 people, including government officials, who were connected to a 2010 Israeli flotilla raid that killed nine Turkish activists.

Intelligence units tracked down many of the names by searching social networking sites, including Facebook, officials said.

The Istanbul chief prosecutor's office asked the Turkish National Intelligence Organization to conduct the investigation after Israeli officials refused to provide information on military and government officials who gave the orders to attack the Mavi Marmara flotilla, Today's Zaman reported Monday.

The investigation included an examination of pictures of Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu visiting Flotilla 13, a top-security base on the Israeli coast near Haifa, the report said.

Turkish prosecutors say they have pictures of 148 military personnel believed to have been involved in the raid in one capacity or another.

After identifying some members of the Israeli military through an initial search, investigators examined their online correspondence with other military personnel thought to have been connected to the raid, officials said.

The report did not specify how military people on the list were involved in the incident.

A full report by the National Intelligence Organization said Netanyahu was the No. 1 one person responsible for the raid on the Mavi Marmara May 31, 2010.

Israeli Defense Forces Chief of General Staff Gabi Ashkenaz; Vice Adm. Eliezer Marom, naval forces commander; and Maj. Gen Amos Yadlin, military intelligence chief, were ranked among Israeli officials with responsibility in the matter.

The Turkish ship was was part of an international humanitarian aid fleet that tried to break through an Israeli blockade of Gaza.