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INT'L HELP POURS IN, BUT TURKEY SAYS ISRAEL'S WON'T CURE DIPLOMATIC ROW
Today's Zaman
Oct 27 2011
Turkey
Israel sent seven prefabricated houses, blankets, coats, mattresses
and an extensive relief team to Van shortly after Turkey said it was
ready to accept foreign help.
International aid keeps piling up in eastern Turkey as countries that
Turkey has strained ties with, including Israel, rush to contribute
to Turkish relief efforts in the aftermath of Sunday's magnitude 7.2
earthquake that left thousands homeless in biting cold, but Ankara
has ruled out the possibility that Israeli aid will help bury the
hatchet between the two countries.
"We have no prejudice against any country, but just because Israel
is helping us does not mean that we will give up on our principled
position against the country," Davutoglu said on Wednesday in Jordan,
where he participated in a joint press conference with his Jordanian
counterpart. "The political conditions for reconciliation remain
intact," Davutoglu was quoted as saying by the Anatolia news agency.
Davutoglu clarified that many countries, including Armenia and Israel
-- countries that have for a while been at odds with Turkey, offered to
help Turkey on Sunday, but Turkey first needed to coordinate domestic
efforts and had enough rescue teams on the ground.
Davutoglu was the latest Turkish official to claim that a tense
political climate between Israel and Turkey would not affect the
countries' determination to help each other on humanitarian grounds.
Davutoglu dismissed claims that Turkey initially rejected international
offers for aid and said Turkey has never considered aid offers with
"[political] prejudice." Israel so far delivered seven prefabricated
houses, blankets, coats, mattresses and an extensive relief team
shortly after Turkey said it was ready to accept foreign help, and
more is being packed in Israel to be shipped to Turkey.
"The homes are ready to use and contain the materials necessary for
one family," Nizar Amer, the top remaining official at the Israeli
Embassy in Ankara, was quoted as saying by Anatolia on Thursday. He
also clarified that Israel was planning to send more aid to Turkey
as soon as possible, as he announced that the Jewish state would send
three more planes within three days.
Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Selcuk Unal further confirmed
Turkey's determination on the preconditions before the country could
settle its dispute with Israel on Thursday, saying, "We never mix
humanitarian issues with political ones," Anatolia reported. Unal
also recalled Turkish help to Israel back in December when the country
suffered the loss of dozens of lives in a forest fire, as he explained
that Israel was extending similar humanitarian aid to Turkey and it
was much appreciated. "However, there are no changes in our basic
expectations from Israel before bilateral political relations could
change," he told reporters at a press conference.
Although the efforts promised a flicker of possibility that frozen ties
might warm up between Israel and Turkey, Israeli officials joined the
Turkish side in pushing aside the possibility of changing the political
mood through aid. Israel on Wednesday downplayed the effects its
humanitarian aid might have on relations, with Foreign Minister Avigdor
Lieberman saying, "There is no mixing political-diplomatic relations
and natural disasters," and Ehud Shani, the director-general of the
Israeli Ministry of Defense, noting that Israel was "putting things
aside for a minute" to aid the country in distress, Reuters reported.
Israel, whose ties with Turkey hit rock bottom after Israeli commandos
killed nine Turks onboard a Gaza-bound flotilla last year, immediately
said it was launching an airlift of supplies. Turkey insists on its
measures of dropping the level of diplomatic relations and halting
military agreements after Israel clarified it would not comply with
Turkey's conditions to issue an apology and compensation for the loss
of life in the flotilla raid, and remove the blockade over Gaza.
International offers materialize as first aid planes land in Turkey
As Turkey put requests to around 30 countries that previously offered
help, some of them have already dispatched urgently needed materials
to provide shelter for thousands of earthquake survivors who lost
their homes in the disaster.
Noting that Turkey has so far received official notifications for
help from 12 countries and two international institutions, Unal said
most of these notifications were with regard to meeting the needs
for materials at ground zero.
Azerbaijan, Belgium, Egypt, France, Ireland, Israel, Japan, Kazakhstan,
Russia, Switzerland, the UK and Ukraine were announced as the 12
countries that have put through confirmations that they are sending
help, as well as two offices within the United Nations. Unal also added
Jordan and Qatar to the list of countries, which relayed their offers
to Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu while he was visiting
the nations earlier this week.
A Ukrainian aid plane was the first to touch down in Turkey, as the
plane landed in Erzurum late Wednesday night. It was followed by
another from France that arrived early Thursday morning. The first
planes from the UN and Israel also arrived in Turkey, and the rest
of the countries are following suit, Unal noted.
Turkey designated Erzurum as the destination where international
help will be diverted in order to be domestically distributed to the
earthquake epicenter province of Van. Most of the dispatches include
means to meet the pressing need for shelter, which Turkey was not
able to meet on its own, given the fact that hundreds of aftershocks
have forced residents of the city and neighboring towns to stay
out in the open, fearing that smaller quakes might bring down their
already damaged houses. The earthquake has killed around 500 people
and wounded more than 1,000, but officials fear the death toll may
rise beyond 1,000 as many are still reported missing.
Today's Zaman
Oct 27 2011
Turkey
Israel sent seven prefabricated houses, blankets, coats, mattresses
and an extensive relief team to Van shortly after Turkey said it was
ready to accept foreign help.
International aid keeps piling up in eastern Turkey as countries that
Turkey has strained ties with, including Israel, rush to contribute
to Turkish relief efforts in the aftermath of Sunday's magnitude 7.2
earthquake that left thousands homeless in biting cold, but Ankara
has ruled out the possibility that Israeli aid will help bury the
hatchet between the two countries.
"We have no prejudice against any country, but just because Israel
is helping us does not mean that we will give up on our principled
position against the country," Davutoglu said on Wednesday in Jordan,
where he participated in a joint press conference with his Jordanian
counterpart. "The political conditions for reconciliation remain
intact," Davutoglu was quoted as saying by the Anatolia news agency.
Davutoglu clarified that many countries, including Armenia and Israel
-- countries that have for a while been at odds with Turkey, offered to
help Turkey on Sunday, but Turkey first needed to coordinate domestic
efforts and had enough rescue teams on the ground.
Davutoglu was the latest Turkish official to claim that a tense
political climate between Israel and Turkey would not affect the
countries' determination to help each other on humanitarian grounds.
Davutoglu dismissed claims that Turkey initially rejected international
offers for aid and said Turkey has never considered aid offers with
"[political] prejudice." Israel so far delivered seven prefabricated
houses, blankets, coats, mattresses and an extensive relief team
shortly after Turkey said it was ready to accept foreign help, and
more is being packed in Israel to be shipped to Turkey.
"The homes are ready to use and contain the materials necessary for
one family," Nizar Amer, the top remaining official at the Israeli
Embassy in Ankara, was quoted as saying by Anatolia on Thursday. He
also clarified that Israel was planning to send more aid to Turkey
as soon as possible, as he announced that the Jewish state would send
three more planes within three days.
Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Selcuk Unal further confirmed
Turkey's determination on the preconditions before the country could
settle its dispute with Israel on Thursday, saying, "We never mix
humanitarian issues with political ones," Anatolia reported. Unal
also recalled Turkish help to Israel back in December when the country
suffered the loss of dozens of lives in a forest fire, as he explained
that Israel was extending similar humanitarian aid to Turkey and it
was much appreciated. "However, there are no changes in our basic
expectations from Israel before bilateral political relations could
change," he told reporters at a press conference.
Although the efforts promised a flicker of possibility that frozen ties
might warm up between Israel and Turkey, Israeli officials joined the
Turkish side in pushing aside the possibility of changing the political
mood through aid. Israel on Wednesday downplayed the effects its
humanitarian aid might have on relations, with Foreign Minister Avigdor
Lieberman saying, "There is no mixing political-diplomatic relations
and natural disasters," and Ehud Shani, the director-general of the
Israeli Ministry of Defense, noting that Israel was "putting things
aside for a minute" to aid the country in distress, Reuters reported.
Israel, whose ties with Turkey hit rock bottom after Israeli commandos
killed nine Turks onboard a Gaza-bound flotilla last year, immediately
said it was launching an airlift of supplies. Turkey insists on its
measures of dropping the level of diplomatic relations and halting
military agreements after Israel clarified it would not comply with
Turkey's conditions to issue an apology and compensation for the loss
of life in the flotilla raid, and remove the blockade over Gaza.
International offers materialize as first aid planes land in Turkey
As Turkey put requests to around 30 countries that previously offered
help, some of them have already dispatched urgently needed materials
to provide shelter for thousands of earthquake survivors who lost
their homes in the disaster.
Noting that Turkey has so far received official notifications for
help from 12 countries and two international institutions, Unal said
most of these notifications were with regard to meeting the needs
for materials at ground zero.
Azerbaijan, Belgium, Egypt, France, Ireland, Israel, Japan, Kazakhstan,
Russia, Switzerland, the UK and Ukraine were announced as the 12
countries that have put through confirmations that they are sending
help, as well as two offices within the United Nations. Unal also added
Jordan and Qatar to the list of countries, which relayed their offers
to Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu while he was visiting
the nations earlier this week.
A Ukrainian aid plane was the first to touch down in Turkey, as the
plane landed in Erzurum late Wednesday night. It was followed by
another from France that arrived early Thursday morning. The first
planes from the UN and Israel also arrived in Turkey, and the rest
of the countries are following suit, Unal noted.
Turkey designated Erzurum as the destination where international
help will be diverted in order to be domestically distributed to the
earthquake epicenter province of Van. Most of the dispatches include
means to meet the pressing need for shelter, which Turkey was not
able to meet on its own, given the fact that hundreds of aftershocks
have forced residents of the city and neighboring towns to stay
out in the open, fearing that smaller quakes might bring down their
already damaged houses. The earthquake has killed around 500 people
and wounded more than 1,000, but officials fear the death toll may
rise beyond 1,000 as many are still reported missing.