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ISRAEL'S LIEBERMAN 'PLANS TO PUNISH TURKEY'
Ma'an News Agency
Sept 9 2011
Palestine
TEL AVIV, Israel (Ma'an) -- Israel's foreign ministry has prepared
a series of "harsh measures" to "punish" Turkey's leadership for
diplomatic slights, Israeli media reported Friday.
Israel will facilitate cooperation with the Armenians, Turkey's
historic rivals, and may even lobby for international recognition of
the Armenian holocaust, the Hebrew-language daily Yedioth Ahronoth
reported.
Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman is also planning to meet with
Kurdish rebels in Europe in order to "cooperate with them and boost
them in every possible area," Yedioth's English website said.
"We'll exact a price from Erdogan that will prove to him that messing
with Israel doesn't pay off," Lieberman was quoted as saying. "Turkey
better treat us with respect and common decency."
Another means in Lieberman's "toolbox," according to the news site
Ynet, is a diplomatic campaign where Israeli missions worldwide will
be instructed to report Turkish moves against minorities.
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 Israel 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 Israel and warning it was
considering lodging a legal case against Israel at the International
Criminal Court.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, meanwhile, vowed to
accompany any future aid flotillas to Gaza with naval warships,
Al Jazeera television quoted him as saying Thursday.
Earlier, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak played down the diplomatic
crisis, saying the dispute "will pass."
But he reiterated his government's line that Israel would not apologize
for the 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 defense 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.
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.
Ma'an News Agency
Sept 9 2011
Palestine
TEL AVIV, Israel (Ma'an) -- Israel's foreign ministry has prepared
a series of "harsh measures" to "punish" Turkey's leadership for
diplomatic slights, Israeli media reported Friday.
Israel will facilitate cooperation with the Armenians, Turkey's
historic rivals, and may even lobby for international recognition of
the Armenian holocaust, the Hebrew-language daily Yedioth Ahronoth
reported.
Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman is also planning to meet with
Kurdish rebels in Europe in order to "cooperate with them and boost
them in every possible area," Yedioth's English website said.
"We'll exact a price from Erdogan that will prove to him that messing
with Israel doesn't pay off," Lieberman was quoted as saying. "Turkey
better treat us with respect and common decency."
Another means in Lieberman's "toolbox," according to the news site
Ynet, is a diplomatic campaign where Israeli missions worldwide will
be instructed to report Turkish moves against minorities.
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 Israel 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 Israel and warning it was
considering lodging a legal case against Israel at the International
Criminal Court.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, meanwhile, vowed to
accompany any future aid flotillas to Gaza with naval warships,
Al Jazeera television quoted him as saying Thursday.
Earlier, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak played down the diplomatic
crisis, saying the dispute "will pass."
But he reiterated his government's line that Israel would not apologize
for the 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 defense 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.
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.