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ISRAELI DEFENSE MINISTER SAYS CRISIS WITH TURKEY "WILL PASS"
PanARMENIAN.Net
September 8, 2011 - 14:18 AMT
PanARMENIAN.Net - Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak played down the
diplomatic crisis with Ankara on Thursday, September 8, saying the
current dispute over a deadly Israeli raid on a Turkish-led flotilla
"will pass."
But he reiterated his government's line that Israel would not apologize
for the May 2010 operation which targeted a flotilla of ships trying
to break Israel's naval blockade on Gaza, and cost the lives of nine
Turkish nationals.
"The current wave will pass, I am sure that we will get over all
this," he told public radio just days after Ankara expelled the
Israeli ambassador and suspended all military ties and defence trade.
"Turkey is not an enemy of Israel. Both we and the Turks know the
reality: our two countries are very important to the West. The real
problem for the West in this region is Syria, and what is happening
in Egypt and Iran, not Turkey," he added.
The Minister admitted once again that "errors may have occurred in
the way in which force was used" when naval commandos boarded the
Turkish ferry leading the flotilla.
But Barak stressed that Israel had already expressed its "regret"
over the loss of human life without making the formal apology that
Turkey has demanded, AFP reported.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday insisted he
wanted to mend the split with Turkey but also praised forces who took
part the naval operation.
The diplomatic crisis between Turkey and Israel that was sparked
by the flotilla raid took a turn for the worse in the last week,
following publication of a UN probe into the incident, which found
Israel's naval blockade to be legal although it chastised the Jewish
state for using "excessive" force in the raid.
Israel has so far refused to apologize for the bloodshed and called
the report's conclusions a vindication of its stance, deeply angering
Turkey.
Turkey responded to the report by expelling Israel's ambassador,
suspending military agreements with the Jewish state and warning it was
considering lodging a legal case against Israel at the International
Criminal Court.
PanARMENIAN.Net
September 8, 2011 - 14:18 AMT
PanARMENIAN.Net - Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak played down the
diplomatic crisis with Ankara on Thursday, September 8, saying the
current dispute over a deadly Israeli raid on a Turkish-led flotilla
"will pass."
But he reiterated his government's line that Israel would not apologize
for the May 2010 operation which targeted a flotilla of ships trying
to break Israel's naval blockade on Gaza, and cost the lives of nine
Turkish nationals.
"The current wave will pass, I am sure that we will get over all
this," he told public radio just days after Ankara expelled the
Israeli ambassador and suspended all military ties and defence trade.
"Turkey is not an enemy of Israel. Both we and the Turks know the
reality: our two countries are very important to the West. The real
problem for the West in this region is Syria, and what is happening
in Egypt and Iran, not Turkey," he added.
The Minister admitted once again that "errors may have occurred in
the way in which force was used" when naval commandos boarded the
Turkish ferry leading the flotilla.
But Barak stressed that Israel had already expressed its "regret"
over the loss of human life without making the formal apology that
Turkey has demanded, AFP reported.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday insisted he
wanted to mend the split with Turkey but also praised forces who took
part the naval operation.
The diplomatic crisis between Turkey and Israel that was sparked
by the flotilla raid took a turn for the worse in the last week,
following publication of a UN probe into the incident, which found
Israel's naval blockade to be legal although it chastised the Jewish
state for using "excessive" force in the raid.
Israel has so far refused to apologize for the bloodshed and called
the report's conclusions a vindication of its stance, deeply angering
Turkey.
Turkey responded to the report by expelling Israel's ambassador,
suspending military agreements with the Jewish state and warning it was
considering lodging a legal case against Israel at the International
Criminal Court.