Turkey expels Israeli Ambassador and diplomats after UN flotilla report

[News_Editor]

Turkey expels Israeli Ambassador and diplomats after UN flotilla report

2011-09-02 20:25:44 GMT+7 (ICT)

ANKARA, TURKEY (BNO NEWS) -- Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet DavutoÄŸlu announced on Friday that Israel's ambassador and senior diplomats have been expelled from the country after Israel refused to apologize regarding the 2010 Gaza flotilla raid.

"Turkey-Israel diplomatic relations have been reduced to a second secretary level," DavutoÄŸlu told the Hurriyet Daily news. "All personnel above the second secretary level will be sent home by Wednesday at the latest."

The announcement was made as Israel has refused to apologize and issue compensations for the families of those killed during the Gaza flotilla raid, as well as end its blockade of Palestinians residing in Gaza.

In addition to downgrading the diplomatic ties between Turkey and Israel to second secretary, DavutoÄŸlu said that all military ties with Israel will be suspended. Turkey also said it will take measures for freedom of maritime movement in the eastern Mediterranean Sea.

Furthermore, DavutoÄŸlu said the Gaza blockade will no longer be recognized by Turkey and the country will take the situation to the International Court of Justice. He said Turkey will support all flotilla victims.

On Thursday, Turkey warned Israel that if it did not issue a formal apology for the incident before the United Nations (UN) Palmer Report on the raid was released, it would put 'Plan B' into play and 'impose sanctions.' It gave no other details at the time.

A leaked version of the UN report was published by the New York Times on late Thursday and stated that the naval blockade was "imposed as a legitimate security measure in order to prevent weapons from entering Gaza by sea and its implementation complied with the requirements of international law."

However, it also stated that Israel's decision to board the vessels with "such substantial force at a great distance from the blockade zone and with no final warning immediately prior to the boarding was excessive and unreasonable."

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.

Following the incident, Turkey withdrew its Ambassador to Israel and suspended joint military exercises, as well as banning any Israeli military aircraft from entering its national airspace.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2011-09-02

[Ulysses G.]

A leaked version of the UN report was published by the New York Times on late Thursday and stated that the naval blockade was "imposed as a legitimate security measure in order to prevent weapons from entering Gaza by sea and its implementation complied with the requirements of international law."

There is plenty of video evidence that the Israeli soldiers were attacked and forced to defend themselves. Those hypocrites at the UN are just too much.

[Jingthing]

No problem. Dump the Turks and jump on the Greeks!

[Steely Dan]

Erdogan is a loose cannon with clear Islamist sympathies, I suspect the sanctions were planned for some time but opposed by his military, the heads of which resigned en-bloc recently. I also wonder how Turkey plans to oppose a blockade that has already been ruled legal.

http://www.debka.com/article/21267/

Edited September 2, 2011 by Steely Dan

[JemJem]

Hmmmmm.....what do we have here ? Turkey, a country which has continually denied the genocide of Armenians in and around 1915 (it was a genocide that happened under the former regime in Anatolia, the Ottoman Empire, but the Turkish Republic is nevertheless the continuation of this Empire in many aspects) and which later in the 20 th century adopted racist policies that forced a large number of Greeks and Armenians to leave the country and which in recent years caused Kurds a lot of hardship.

And....on the other side, we have Israel, a country which has committed acts against humanity against the Palestinians and also caused them a lot of hardship and which is a country that keeps disregarding UN resolutions.

And...both countries are occupiers.....Turkey in Cyprus and Israel in the Palestinian territories.

Both countries....militarist and also full of racist/religious bigotry at state level.

No sympathy from me for either state.

Jem

[flying]

In addition to downgrading the diplomatic ties between Turkey and Israel to second secretary, DavutoÄŸlu said that all military ties with Israel will be suspended. Turkey also said it will take measures for freedom of maritime movement in the eastern Mediterranean Sea.

As is their right to do so.

Although the cheering section is out in force here....

I would say if my personal property were entered/boarded by armed men I would react the same way the flotilla did. Except in my case I would have more than kitchen utensils at hand...Lastly I would not be condemned for it by any thinking person.

[Ulysses G.]

Trying to run a legitimate security blockade would be condemned by anyone who was not hopelessly biased against the country that was trying to prevent weapons from being shipped to radical terrorists in its territory.

A leaked version of the UN report was published by the New York Times on late Thursday and stated that the naval blockade was "imposed as a legitimate security measure in order to prevent weapons from entering Gaza by sea and its implementation complied with the requirements of international law."

Edited September 2, 2011 by Ulysses G.

[flying]

Ultimately it brought international condemnation & the non-threat was seen for what it was.All activists where freed, and the ships returned

It just seems that especially now is not the time to make another enemy out of a neighboring country.

Turkey now joins Egypt ...who is next?

What is the likely long term?

Too bad really

Edited September 3, 2011 by flying

[Ulysses G.]

Israel did not "make" anything. The enemies were already there.

The Erdogan government's hate campaign for bringing Israel to its knees has entailed support for the terrorist organizations dedicated to its destruction, including the Palestinian Hamas, Hizballah - up to a point, and Turkey's very own IHH whose activists set about the Israeli soldiers as they boarded the Mavi Marmora.

The UN report is hard on the flotilla's "true nature and objectives," accusing it of acting "recklessly in attempting to breach the naval blockade" and holding the Turkish government responsible for not doing more to prevent this encounter.

http://www.debka.com/article/21267/

[flying]

Israel did not "make" anything. The enemies were already there.

Actually I was speaking broadly & not of the one incident.

As I recall only a few years ago Israel & Turkey were strategic allies & often conducted many

joint military training sessions together.

As I said sad to see it deteriorate into open hostilities.

Now more than ever...

[Ulysses G.]

Sad indeed. However, it is not about anything that Israel has done in the last few years. It is about unfriendly Islamic governments replacing more reasonable ones.

[coma]

Yes. Turkey has finally realised, with the Arab Spring in full swing, that its interests are best served by reaching out to its Muslim brothers rather than try to jump onto the economical sinking ship that is the European Union.

[coma]

A leaked version of the UN report was published by the New York Times on late Thursday and stated that the naval blockade was "imposed as a legitimate security measure in order to prevent weapons from entering Gaza by sea and its implementation complied with the requirements of international law."

There is plenty of video evidence that the Israeli soldiers were attacked and forced to defend themselves. Those hypocrites at the UN are just too much.

A heli bourne and sea bourne assault by IDF personnel is what was being simultaneously conducted first on the vessal, as seen in said " VDO evidence". That assault is indeed itself an attackl. Therefore I feel that you are wrong in saying that the IDF pers were attacked first.They were the defenders holding thier ground whilst being assaulted. Therefore they were well within thier rights, being in 'International waters' to pick up anything around them to use to defend themselves. [Note there were no firearms or explosives onboard].

[Orac]

Yes. Turkey has finally realised, with the Arab Spring in full swing, that its interests are best served by reaching out to its Muslim brothers rather than try to jump onto the economical sinking ship that is the European Union.

A very worrying prospect. Turkey is in a totally different league to other countries in the region with NATO membership and modern armed forces to boot. As an example, their GDP in 2010 was in the region of 740 billion dollars which compares to the likes of Egypt at 218 bn, Israel at 213 bn and Iran at 407 bn.

[johna]

Bottom line here is that Israel boarded these vessels outside the blockade area, they can not justify that on security reasons, nor the death and injury of so many people.

Turkey has shown great restraint agreeing to withhold the UN report for so long.

[Ulysses G.]

Bottom line here is that Israel boarded these vessels outside the blockade area, they can not justify that on security reasons

Nonsense. There is no "blockade area" and the UN report says otherwise about security.

...the naval blockade was "imposed as a legitimate security measure in order to prevent weapons from entering Gaza by sea and its implementation complied with the requirements of international law."

[Steely Dan]

Bottom line here is that Israel boarded these vessels outside the blockade area, they can not justify that on security reasons, nor the death and injury of so many people.

Turkey has shown great restraint agreeing to withhold the UN report for so long.

Don't fall for the narrative that Turkey agreed to withhold the report, they got wind that the report blamed themselves at least as much as Israel and therefore were desperate to extract some apology from Israel which would not be warranted once the report contents became known. Of course had the report blamed Israel like the Goldstone report Turkey would be using it as justification of it's demands, but as it is it now considers the report "Null and void" as their president said on Friday. So Turkey are on record of disagreeing with the Palmer report and it's findings that the blockade is indeed legal.

P.S Puts Nato in an interesting position if Israel and Turkey came to blows as Nato should be obliged to intervene in support of Turkey, mind you since Obama took power it seems NATO does indeed now fight on the side of terrorists if Libya is any guide.

Edited September 3, 2011 by Steely Dan

[chuckd]

This article from The Weekly Standard has some interesting moments in it...

______________________________________________________

UN Report on Flotilla Incident Exonerates Israel

12:00 AM, SEP 3, 2011 • BY ELLIOTT ABRAMS

The United Nations report on the Mavi Marmara incident, entitled "Report of the Secretary-General’s Panel of Inquiry on the 31 May 2010 Flotilla Incident," is now public and largely exculpates Israel. All the facts are as Israel contended and as the Commission notes "Israel faces a real threat to its security from militant groups in Gaza. The naval blockade was imposed as a legitimate security measure" and "Israeli Defense Forces personnel faced significant, organized and violent resistance from a group of passengers when they boarded the Mavi Marmara requiring them to use force for their own protection. Three soldiers were captured, mistreated, and placed at risk by those passengers. Several others were wounded."

_______________________________________________________

The article says, in part, the following, quoting the UN report...

"[T]he Panel seriously questions the true nature and objectives of the flotilla organizers….If the flotilla had been a purely humanitarian mission it is hard to see why so many passengers were embarked and with what purpose. Furthermore, the quality and value of many of the humanitarian goods on board the vessels is questionable….Although people are entitled to express their political views, the flotilla acted recklessly in attempting to breach the naval blockade. The majority of the flotilla participants had no violent intentions, but there exist serious questions about the conduct, true nature and objectives of the flotilla organizers, particularly IHH. The actions of the flotilla needlessly carried the potential for escalation….

More seriously, the panel concludes that the “humanitarians” on the Mavi Marmara came armed for a fight:

It is clear to the Panel that preparations were made by some of the passengers on the Mavi Marmara well in advance to violently resist any boarding attempt….The Panel accepts, therefore, that soldiers landing from the first helicopter faced significant, organized and violent resistance from a group of passengers when they descended onto the Mavi Marmara. Material before the Panel confirms that this group was armed with iron bars, staves, chains, and slingshots and there is some indication that they also used knives.389 Firearms were taken from IDF personnel and passengers disabled at least one by removing the ammunition from it. Two soldiers received gunshot wounds. There is some reason to believe that they may have been shot by passengers, although the Panel is not able to conclusively establish how the gunshot wounds were caused. Nevertheless, seven other soldiers were wounded by passengers, some seriously."

See article here: http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/un-report-flotilla-incident-exonerates-israel_592127.html

[chuckd]

And now we have Turkey's response to the UN report.

______________________________________________________

Turkey says it will challenge Gaza blockade

By SUZAN FRASER - Associated Press |

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey is preparing to challenge Israel's blockade on Gaza at the International Court of Justice, the foreign minister said Saturday, racheting up tensions between the once close allies.

Ahmet Davutoglu's comments came a day after Turkey expelled the Israel's ambassador and severed military ties with the country angered over its refusal to apologize for last year's deadly raid on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla that killed nine pro-Palestinian activists.

In an interview with Turkey's state-run TRT television, Davutoglu dismissed a U.N. report into the raid that said Israel's naval blockade of Gaza was a legal security measure. Davutoglu said the report — prepared by former New Zealand Prime Minister Geoffrey Palmer, and former Colombian President Alvaro Uribe, and presented to U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon — was not endorsed by the United Nations and was therefore not binding.

Full article here: http://news.yahoo.com/turkey-says-challenge-gaza-blockade-123453603.html

[geriatrickid]

Turkey is backing itself into a corner and will find itself in need of friends as it ramps up its attempts to squah the Kurds and cope with the Syrian meltdown. One thing this shows is that the Germans and French were not so far off the mark when they put up stiff resistance to allowing Turkey into the EU.

The winners in all this? Greece. It had been sidelined for years as Israel and Turkey forged a friendship. Now, Greece has reminded Israel that the cradle of democracy, while screwed up and in bad shape still is alive & ticking.

[Steely Dan]

And now we have Turkey's response to the UN report.

______________________________________________________

Turkey says it will challenge Gaza blockade

By SUZAN FRASER - Associated Press |

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey is preparing to challenge Israel's blockade on Gaza at the International Court of Justice, the foreign minister said Saturday, racheting up tensions between the once close allies.

Ahmet Davutoglu's comments came a day after Turkey expelled the Israel's ambassador and severed military ties with the country angered over its refusal to apologize for last year's deadly raid on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla that killed nine pro-Palestinian activists.

In an interview with Turkey's state-run TRT television, Davutoglu dismissed a U.N. report into the raid that said Israel's naval blockade of Gaza was a legal security measure. Davutoglu said the report — prepared by former New Zealand Prime Minister Geoffrey Palmer, and former Colombian President Alvaro Uribe, and presented to U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon — was not endorsed by the United Nations and was therefore not binding.

Full article here: http://news.yahoo.com/turkey-says-challenge-gaza-blockade-123453603.html

The sheer hypocrisy shown by Turkey is amazing on many levels. Firstly the UNHRC with it's Islamic block vote has produced more motions condemning Israel than all other Countries put together, including the damaging but flawed Goldstone report which restricted overseas travel by Israeli politicians for fear of being prosecuted for human rights abuses. Now for once a U.N report appears to be more balanced yet Turkey throws it's rattle out the pram. In addition if human rights were so important to Turkey then why did they recently kill civilians with aerial bombing of suspected Kurdish rebels in Iraq, an estimated 160 died, furthermore Erdogan is so much in denial over the Armenian genocide that he ordered the dismantling of a peace statue on the Armenian border and threatened to deport all Armenians if anyone mentioned the genocide to him. As I wrote, quite extraordinary hypocrisy.

[Pakboong]

There has been some speculation that Israel had been staging tactical aircraft in Georgia by getting there upon completion of previously agreed upon, joint Israeli and Turkey air exercises. It has be rumored that Israel was, instead of returning to Israel, flying these planes into Georgia to set up a staging area for a preemptive attack on Iran.

The problem with Turkey leads me to believe that all was just rumors. If this was a real attack plan, surely Israel would have apologized to Turkey to save such an operation.

[koheesti]

Turkey wants to challenge the blockade of Gaza? Israel should announce military aid to Kurdistan.

[Credo]

There is no such country as Kurdistan. If Israel were to give aid to the Kurds that would be either the Iraqi Kurds or the Turkish Kurds. That would be a major violation. PKK is a terrorist organization, Israel would face some very stiff sanctions if they supported them. The Iraqi Kurds would raise the ire of the Iraqi government. The Iranians have all they can do to keep the Kurds in line and that would ratchet up the situation. Syria would be none to happy either. It would be best to drop that idea, I think.

[Ulysses G.]

The point is that Turkey is supporting Hamas - another terrorist organization. What's good for the goose...

[Credo]

Well then by all means go ahead and support the mythical land called Kurdistan. That way we can be assured of another 6,000 years of Middle East nonsense.

[koheesti]

The point is that Turkey is supporting Hamas - another terrorist organization. What's good for the goose...

As well as Palestine never having been a country and there were no Palestinians prior to what, the 1970s?

[flying]

As well as Palestine never having been a country and there were no Palestinians prior to what, the 1970s?

Some have the date to be 1947-48 before which it was occupied by Brits who took it from Turks in about 1915-1916

Basically claiming it has been a area ruled by various foreigners for 1000's of years.

But it was obviously there when a UN partition plan was drawn in 1947

That has changed considerably through various reasons some claim legal others not so much.

Names of countries/tribes etc. cannot be the requirement of determining if they existed or not. As the name may not be the same as it once was nor the configuration.

That would be like saying Thailand or Thai's did not exist before 1939

Edited September 4, 2011 by flying

[Ulysses G.]

That would be like saying Thailand or Thai's did not exist before 1939

Except for the fact that Thailand already had lots of people and a working government. Around the turn of the century, "Palestine" was mostly barren desert with very few people outside of Jerusalem which was dominated by Jews.

Both Jews and Arabs started arriving from other countries around that time and the Arabs immigrants started attacking the Jews and that is why the UN tried to divide up the land between the two groups. The Jews accepted the UN peace plan and the Arabs refused it and have been refusing peace ever since.

"Palestine sits in sackcloth and ashes. Over it broods the spell of a curse that has withered its fields and fettered its energies... Palestine is desolate and unlovely... It is a hopeless, dreary, heartbroken land... [a] desolate country whose soil is rich enough, but is given over wholly to weeds - a silent mournful expanse... A desolation is here that not even imagination can grace with the pomp of life and action... We never saw a human being on the whole route... There was hardly a tree or a shrub anywhere. Even the olive and the cactus, those fast friends of the worthless soil, had almost deserted the country..."

- Mark Twain (describing Palestine on a visit in 1867).

Edited September 4, 2011 by Ulysses G.

[Pakboong]

That would be like saying Thailand or Thai's did not exist before 1939

Except for the fact that Thailand already had lots of people and a working government. Around the turn of the century, "Palestine" was mostly barren desert with very few people outside of Jerusalem which was dominated by Jews.

Both Jews and Arabs started arriving from other countries around that time and the Arabs immigrants started attacking the Jews and that is why the UN tried to divide up the land between the two groups. The Jews accepted the UN peace plan and the Arabs refused it and have been refusing peace ever since.

"Palestine sits in sackcloth and ashes. Over it broods the spell of a curse that has withered its fields and fettered its energies... Palestine is desolate and unlovely... It is a hopeless, dreary, heartbroken land... [a] desolate country whose soil is rich enough, but is given over wholly to weeds - a silent mournful expanse... A desolation is here that not even imagination can grace with the pomp of life and action... We never saw a human being on the whole route... There was hardly a tree or a shrub anywhere. Even the olive and the cactus, those fast friends of the worthless soil, had almost deserted the country..."

- Mark Twain (describing Palestine on a visit in 1867).

According to Ottoman statistics studied by Justin McCarthy,[49] the population of Palestine in the early 19th century was 350,000, in 1860 it was 411,000 and in 1900 about 600,000 of which 94% were Arabs. In 1914 Palestine had a population of 657,000 Muslim Arabs, 81,000 Christian Arabs, and 59,000 Jews.[50] McCarthy estimates the non-Jewish population of Palestine at 452,789 in 1882, 737,389 in 1914, 725,507 in 1922, 880,746 in 1931 and 1,339,763 in 1946.[51]