Turkey threatens sanctions against Israel if it refuses to apologize for Gaza flotilla raid

2011-09-01 23:36:54 GMT+7 (ICT)

JERUSALEM (BNO NEWS) -- Turkey on Thursday said it will not allow any further delays in the release of a United Nations report on the 2010 Gaza flotilla raid and warned of consequences if Israel continues to refuse to issue a formal apology for the incident, local media reported.

The publication of the United Nations Palmer report, which has been postponed three times following the consent of both Turkey and Israel, is expected to be released on Friday. But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suggested earlier this week to both Turkey and to the United Nations Secretary-General to postpone the release date by six months. The Turkish government rejected this proposal.

"The release date of the UN report is the last date for us. We will put Plan B into play if no [israeli] apology," Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet DavutoÄŸlu told the Today Zaman, without elaborating on what "Plan B" may be.

DavutoÄŸlu added that Turkey intends to "impose sanctions which both Israel and other international parties are aware of" if Israel doesn't issue a public apology for the raid.

"We have been told that there has been a consensus, including an apology and other issues, which means we have made progress in the negotiations," the Turkish official said. "But when it came to the final move, Israel always takes a step back at the last minute because of debates among its coalition".

In May 2010, nine pro-Palestinian activists were killed and dozens more were injured when Israeli commandos boarded a ship participating in the 'Freedom Flotilla I', which was heading to the Gaza Strip with humanitarian aid on board. The incident caused global outrage over alleged excessive force, but Israel has denied that and said its commandos were being attacked.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2011-09-01

Perhaps Turkey should first apologize for letting known terrorist supporters sail armed with clubs and knives in an attempt to break a legal blockade when there is indeed no humanitarian crisis in Gaza as confirmed recently by the red cross.

Of course the nine activists killed pale into insignificance compared to the Armenian genocide, but mentioning that would cause Erdogan's head to explode.

Perhaps Turkey should first apologize for letting known terrorist supporters sail armed with clubs and knives in an attempt to break a legal blockade when there is indeed no humanitarian crisis in Gaza as confirmed recently by the red cross.

Of course the nine activists killed pale into insignificance compared to the Armenian genocide, but mentioning that would cause Erdogan's head to explode.

No need to go that far back - sounds to be a bit of pot and kettle going on here:

On August 21, according to Iraqi officials, Turkish warplanes bombed a vehicle carrying civilians. The attack killed seven members of the same extended family according to relatives of those killed, local officials, and media workers. Turkey denied its planes were responsible.

The family group, which included four children, was driving on a highly travelled main roadway in a white 2011 Nissan pickup truck from the village of Bole to Rania to visit relatives. Shamal Hassan told Human Rights Watch on August 29 that the attack instantly killed his wife, Rezan, and his daughters, Solin, two months old, and Sonya, 18 months old. The attack also killed his wife’s parents and two other children.

An emotional Hassan told Human Rights Watch, “The attack was so destructive that we couldn’t recognize their bodies. I want the international community to hold Turkey accountable. They ruined my life.”

from http://www.hrw.org/news/2011/09/02/iraqi-kurdistan-cross-border-attacks-should-spare-iraqi-civilians

Turkey is the one who should apologogize for allowing those Turkish mercenaries on board.

"But when it came to the final move, Israel always takes a step back at the last minute "

Very habitual for Israel.

Turkey has backed itself into a political corner. Even the UN report does not support the Turkish position. There is no doubt that Israel botched the operation from a PR standpoint. And the Israelis have responded poorly to that aspect. In a world of edited videos, and blitz attack viral videos, Israel lost. However, Turkey's position provides cover for the fact that it was complicit in the protestors' deaths. It should never have encouraged, aided and abetted these people and that's what Turkey doesn't want people to look at. In the meantime, Turkey has embarked on meddling in Iraq and made a right mess of things with its attempt to appear as the white knight on the Syrian issue.

Israel still considers Turkey an important partner in the peace process and the ties between Turkish and Israeli commercial interests are still strong. Unfortunately for Turkey, major western nations are distancing themselves from the country as the response to the flotilla mess doesn't instil confidence in the maturity of the state. Turkey's petulant threats mean that it can kiss joining the EU goodbye for a few more years.