Madrid  - Prosecutors at Spain's National Court on Thursday asked judge Fernando Andreu to shelve his investigation into a 2002 Israeli bombing in Gaza Strip for the time being.

Documents handed over by Israel indicated that the events in question were still under investigation by Israel, the prosecutors argued.

Andreu had earlier interpreted the documents differently, concluding that he had jurisdiction over the case, because there was no investigation in Israel.

The National Court has become known for its inquiries into alleged human rights abuses in other countries, ranging from Chile and Argentina to Tibet and Western Sahara.

The suspects named by Andreu include former Israeli defence minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer and six current or former army officers or security officials.

The bombing killed Hamas leader Salah Shehade and 14 others, including several children. Andreu believes it could constitute a crime against humanity.

The probe is based on a complaint lodged by a Palestinian human rights group at the National Court.

While Israeli state and military prosecutors had concluded that there was no reason for judicial proceedings in the case, the country's Supreme Court had not yet definitively made up its mind, the Spanish prosecutors said.

The case has created some tension between Spain and Israel. The Spanish government told Israel that it planned to limit the possibilities of Spanish courts to investigate possible human rights abuses in other countries.(dpa)