Istanbul – Turkey was still expecting a formal apology and compensation from Israel over the Gaza flotilla incident, the country’s Foreign Ministry said Friday.
The statement came even after Israeli and Turkish diplomats met in Geneva this week in a bid to repair the diplomatic crisis between the two countries.
‘Israel has behaved unjustly towards Turkey regarding the aid ship Mavi Marmara and we are still expecting compensation and an apology,’ Turkey’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Selcuk Unal said, according to the semi-official Anatolia Agency.
His statement echoed similar recent comments by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and President Abdullah Gul.
The diplomatic crisis was sparked by Israel’s assault on a flotilla headed to Gaza in May, during which Israeli commandos shot dead nine Turkish pro-Palestinian activists onboard the Turkish Mavi Marmara.
In the wake of the incident, Turkey recalled its ambassador to Israel and demanded an official apology and compensation. Israel refused to apologise, saying it had acted in self-defence.
After months of strained relations between the formerly close allies, Yosef Ciechanover, Israel’s representative to the United Nations commission investigating the flotilla deaths, and Turkish Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Feridun Sinirlioglu held meetings in Geneva on Sunday and Monday to try to solve the crisis – the first such bilateral encounter since July.
The Geneva meetings came about after Turkey sent two planes to Israel to help fight a recent forest fire, which killed 42 Israelis and burnt 50 square kilometres of land.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu personally thanked Erdogan for the assistance and said he hoped it would be the beginning of a new page in relations.
Unconfirmed reports in the Turkish and Israeli press this week have shed some light on the recent diplomatic meetings, but official statements have been lacking.
Turkish media have speculated that Israel might pay 100,000 dollars in damages to each of the families of the men who were killed on the Mavi Marmara. However, in his remarks on Friday, Unal said, ‘We have not voiced any compensation amount.’
The question of an apology is also undecided and sensitive, as it appears that Israel would prefer a word less strong than ‘apology,’ such as ‘regret.’
The Turkish Foreign Ministry’s spokesperson declined to comment on the nature of any ongoing or upcoming talks between the two countries.
via Turkey still wants apology and compensation from Israel – Monsters and Critics.
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