Turkey Trial of Israeli Top Brass to Resume February

The trial of four former Israeli military chiefs charged over a deadly 2010 raid on a Gaza-bound Turkish flotilla has been adjourned to February 21, the relief group that organized the mission said on Monday.

Israel has angrily denounced the case as a "show trial" and none of the four defendants have appeared in the dock at the Istanbul court where the trial opened November 6.

Nine people were killed when Israeli commandos on May 31, 2010 raided the Mavi Marmara, the largest ship in a flotilla heading to Gaza in an attempt to break the Israeli blockade on the Hamas-run Palestinian territory.

Turkish prosecutors are seeking life sentences for Israel's former military chief of staff Gaby Ashkenazi, former navy chief Eliezer Marom, former military intelligence head Amos Yadlin and former air force intelligence chief Avishai Levy.

The four are accused of "sponsoring murders, brutality and cruelty" over the assault in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea on the flotilla organized by the Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH).

As many as 500 witnesses are expected to testify when the trial resumes, and a verdict is not expected for many months.

Israeli-Turkish relations hit a new low after the crisis, with Ankara expelling the Israeli ambassador and cutting military ties.

Ankara insists that ties will not return to normal unless Israel offers a formal apology, compensates the victims and lifts its naval blockade on Gaza.