Turkey over the past few days submitted a letter to Israel asking for the identities of the Israeli occupation soldiers involved in the Mavi Marmara ship raid which left nine Turks dead

Turkey over the past few days submitted a letter to Israel asking for the identities of the Israeli occupation soldiers involved in the Mavi Marmara ship raid which left nine Turks dead, Turkish paper Zaman reported Friday.

In a two-page letter, the Istanbul Public Prosecutor's Office sent the request as part of an ongoing court case investigating the May 31 flotilla raid, the report said.

The letter demanded the names and contact details of Israeli soldiers and officers who were involved in the raid. The letter also demanded that an official copy of information and documents related to the incident be sent, according to the Turkish paper.

On Wednesday, a bipartisan group of members of Congress sent a letter appealing to the Turkish government to prevent a second flotilla from sailing to Gaza this June.

“We write today to express our serious concern over reports that the so-called Free Gaza Movement and the IHH are planning to send another flotilla to Gaza in the coming weeks to provoke a confrontation with Israel,” the members wrote in the letter.

“We ask you to help discourage these efforts and work with the Israeli government in a productive way as it continues to allow legitimate aid, but not weapons, to enter Gaza.”

The letter continued by stating that “Israel, like any country in the world, must take whatever steps necessary to protect its citizens and that starts with preventing additional weapons from entering Gaza. If flotilla organizers carry out their confrontational plans, the Israelis will have little choice but to board the vessels and search for weapons.”