The judge of the National Court of Spain, Francisco de Khoury, has agreed to accept and consider the criminal case filed by the Communist Party, the "United Left" bloc, and a number of activists, against the Chief of Staff of the Israeli occupation army, Eyal Zamir, and the Commander of the Navy Ram Rothberg, on charges of committing war crimes and illegally detaining Spanish citizens who were part of the "Global Steadfastness Flotilla" heading to break the humanitarian blockade on the Gaza Strip.
Piracy in international waters
According to Spanish media, according to the reasons contained in the judicial decision, the Israeli occupation forces carried out a violent military incursion against the ships of the Al-Sumoud Flotilla on the high seas, specifically 70 nautical miles from the coast in international waters.
The attack resulted in the forcible control of the vessels, some of which were flying the Spanish flag and under their jurisdiction, the destruction of personal property and the detention of crew members and activists.
The Spanish criminal case indicated that the occupation authorities forcibly transferred the Spanish detainees to the Israeli prison "Katsaot", where the victims confirmed in their initial statements that they were subjected to systematic torture, cruel insults, and a complete denial of the right to legal or consular assistance, which will be subject to urgent criminal examination by the Spanish judiciary.
Establishing Jurisdiction under the Flag State Law
The judge of the Spanish National Court resolved the question of jurisdiction despite the previous refusal of the Public Prosecution, invoking article 23 of the Basic Law of the Spanish Judicial Authority, which gives Madrid courts the exclusive right to investigate crimes committed on board Spanish-flagged ships on the high seas under the principle of "exclusive jurisdiction of the flag State".
Based on this legal principle, the judge clarified that the investigation would be explicitly limited to the facts and violations that occurred inside the Spanish vessels, and therefore the prosecution of other Israeli officials outside this scope was excluded.
The judge stressed that the lack of authorization or prior authorization by the Spanish government by Israeli forces to inspect ships legally makes their military act an "offence of unlawful detention."
Coordination with the International Criminal Court in The Hague
As part of the preliminary executive proceedings, the Spanish judge issued an urgent order to count the vessels in question and identify the victims and activists to hear their official testimony, including activist Santiago González Vallejo, who recounted the details of the harsh conditions of detention and beatings.
The judge also addressed the ICC prosecutor's office in The Hague to request a formal clarification on the overlapping powers, and to ensure that Spain's actions do not conflict with ongoing and open international investigations against the Israeli occupation entity on charges of war crimes and genocide.
The European judicial move comes at a time when Israel faces unprecedented legal isolation before the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court.
This trial is reminiscent of the bloody Israeli attack in 2010 on the Turkish ship "Mavi Marmara" as part of the First Freedom Flotilla, which resulted in the death of 10 activists and caused international prosecutions against the leaders of the occupation that included more than 40 countries, putting the current leaders of the occupation army under the guillotine of prosecution and international arrest as soon as they travel outside the occupied territories.
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