Gaza Flotilla: Israel 'Not Ready To Apologize' For 2010 Turkish Deaths

JERUSALEM — Israel will not apologize for killing nine Turkish activists aboard a Gaza-bound flotilla last year, an Israeli Cabinet minister said Thursday, but he added that not all in government agree with this stance.

Minister of Strategic Affairs Moshe Yaalon told foreign reporters at a briefing Thursday that he recently held three rounds of talks with the Turks in an effort to put more than a year of animosity behind the one-time close allies.

"We are not ready to apologize," he said. "Apology is taking responsibility."

However, he hinted Israel's position could change, saying "there might be some dispute" within the Cabinet.

The pro-Palestinian activists were trying to breach Israel's naval embargo of the Gaza Strip. Israel says it imposed the blockade four years ago to keep militants from bringing weapons to the Hamas-ruled enclave by sea.

Activists who regard the blockade as collective punishment for Gaza's 1.6 million people sent a six-ship flotilla in the direction of Gaza.

Israeli naval commandos sent to intercept the ships from reaching Gaza clashed with knife and club-wielding activists aboard the Turkish vessel leading the flotilla, killing nine activists onboard.

Activists say they were attacked first, while Israel maintains the commandos opened fire in self-defense.

Turkish activists did not join a failed attempt earlier this month to send another flotilla to Gaza, in what appeared to be a sign of warming relations between the two countries. But Yaalon said major disagreements between his government and Turkey couldn't be bridged.

In what could re-ignite tension, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said he hopes to make his first official visit to Gaza in about two weeks.

Turkey contends that the blockade is illegitimate and wants it lifted, something Israel refuses to do.

Yaalon said an upcoming U.N. report on the Israeli raid is expected to defend the blockade and the naval operation but accuse commandos of using excessive force. He said U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon is scheduled to release the report on the deadly confrontation July 27.

At U.N. headquarters in New York, Ban's spokesman Martin Nesirky said: "The report is in the works but we can't say when it will be handed to the secretary-general."

Asked whether the report will be made public, Nesirky said: "The secretary-general will decide on the next steps after he receives the report."

While the sea blockade remains enforced, the Israeli official said weapons from Libya are making their way into Gaza through Egypt's Sinai desert.

"There is now a new route of weapons smuggled from Libya," he said, adding that smugglers are taking advantage of the chaos prompted by that country's civil war.

He stopped short of providing details about the types or quantities of weapons Israel claims are moving into Gaza from Libya.

___

Associated Press writer Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations contributed to this report.

Comments

[Sam Adamson]

02:49 PM on 07/23/2011

"Gaza Flotilla: Israel 'Not Ready To Apologize' For 2010 Turkish Deaths" - I believe they were 9 only.

[JanP]

11:33 AM on 07/23/2011

Turkey needs to apologize for sending the Mavi Marmara and people who declared themselves ready for martyrdom into a volatile situation. See how much better it worked out this time when the Flotilla couldn;t even set sail.

[BcemXAHA]

11:02 AM on 07/23/2011

Israel has nothing, not a single thing to apologize for, if it ever comes to Israel actually apologizing, it will ONLY be because of US pressure. Israel acted properly and legally.

[nkurland]

02:09 PM on 07/23/2011

"Israel acted properly and legally"... just not according to any recognizable interpretation of international law.

Ya gotta love it. Israel's their own jury judge and executioner and inexplicably, they always find themselves innocent.

[ArthroughpadNY]

03:35 PM on 07/25/2011

Pay attention. The blockade is perfectly legal.

[Sam Adamson]

12:07 AM on 07/23/2011

Gaza flotilla: Turkey 'Not willing to apologize' for misleading its citizens and sending them to violently attack soldiers enforcing a legal blockade

[enderM]

05:05 PM on 07/22/2011

“"The "Freedom Flotilla" billed itself as a nonviolent , peaceful mission to help the starving people of Gaza. The truth is that the mission was not nonviolent , it was not peaceful, and the people of Gaza are not starving.

The "nonviolen t" protesters were not nonviolent . Video exists showing that those on board had prepared metal rods and knives, slingshots , and broken bottles to attack the Israelis. Not generally reported but noteworthy are spent bullet cartridges found on the Mavi Marmara that were not of any caliber used by Israeli commandos, some of whom did suffer gunshot wounds. Also found were propaganda photos of protesters who were supposedly injured. Evidence that these photos were shot during daylight showed they were prepared hours before the operation, which took place at night. The "nonviolen t" nature of the flotilla is a myth, though a well-stage d one."”

[ArthroughpadNY]

09:04 PM on 07/22/2011

Of course they were violent. People tend to ignore the evidence right in front of their faces.

[nk5otr]

12:48 PM on 07/22/2011

Please let me know which of these knives you would not mind being stabbed with. I will try to oblige if able.

http://idfspokesperson.com/2010/05/31/pictures-of-weapons-found-on-the-mavi-marmara-flotilla-ship-31-may-2010/

[ArthroughpadNY]

03:06 PM on 07/22/2011

These people are saying that the flotilla terrorists only had knives. Talk about a stupid statement. Then they are saying that they may have had kitchen knives. I don't know about your kitchen knives but my kitchen knives would kill a moose. Lets see how many of these people would like to have a six inch knife sticking out of their chests. You can't fix stupid.

[palefeet]

04:27 PM on 07/22/2011

So that makes you unfixable....

[JanP]

11:34 AM on 07/23/2011

My kitchen knife is 10" or 12".

[DesLauriers]

12:09 PM on 07/22/2011

Israel is playing with fire and it will be too late for the world to save their **ses again

[spindok]

02:35 PM on 07/22/2011

Israelis seem to have demonstrated considerable aptitude in saving their own **ses. Not a single shot has been fired in the defense of Israel except by Israelis themselves.

[DesLauriers]

03:06 PM on 07/22/2011

I was referring as to when Israel was recognize as a Nation, and also when many nations took Jewish immigrants escaping the Nazis, ironocally they treat the Palestinians almost the same way the Nazis treated the Jewish.

[pomegrante]

09:55 AM on 07/22/2011

"The exhaustion of two anxious weeks of preparation was clear on the face of 74 year old Sante Fe resident Ken Myers as he talked about his Jewish background while on the lower deck of the Audacity of Hope, snacking on a freshly prepared Greek salad the night before the boat set sail. “For the most part, my family including my Israeli family have been supportive of my participation in this mission to Gaza.” He remarked as passenger chefs announced that everyone must take second portions of the salad since there is not enough storage space on board for leftovers. “I grew up in an extremely Jewish neighbourhood on the south shore of Long Island but my parents never forced Zionism on me even though my friends were all in Zionist youth groups.” Taking his last bits before handing over his plastic dish to the chefs he said, “I have come to understand that Zionism is simply incompatible with my version of Judaism.”

http://desertpeace.wordpress.com/2011/07/07/the-jews-on-the-flotilla-self-haters-or-simply-fed-up-with-israeli-policies/

[austinreid]

12:14 PM on 07/22/2011

Very good he is entitled to his opinion after all the Jewish people have historically been a very diverse people with many political view points. Some Jews even thought Hitler (at first) was a good leader that would bring Germany glory and not harm educated Jews.

[ArthroughpadNY]

03:13 PM on 07/22/2011

Jews believe in democracy and all Jews are entitled to their opinions. Too bad the Arabs aren't.

[palefeet]

04:25 PM on 07/22/2011

You speak for all Jews? Youre a tool....

[ThePlague]

09:26 AM on 07/22/2011

Friends, Romans, countrymen, I have an observation here. I used to be (in my younger and more naive years) more liberal than I am now. I still vote mostly Democratic (am a Blue Dog) but I am more fiscally conservative than I used to be, thanks largely to the financial crisis. Another issue though that makes me more conservative is that I went to university in Europe and witnessed the anti-Semitism of the European left, something I could never have imagined before. Now, I see it in the American left too, as evidenced in this article and comment thread. If Israel does not have the right to defend herself against terrorism (and, video evidence shows that the flotilla folks "drew first blood" here to channel "Rambo") then Israel is not given rights as other free and sovereign nations are. She must be allowed to defend herself, full stop. Anything less than that is the grotesque anti-Semitism I personally have seen in the European socialist movements. Let's not as Americans sink that low, my friends, and let us support Israel, which is a beacon of democracy in an area which (perhaps other than Turkey) has not seen much democracy.

[Sam Bark]

03:46 AM on 07/23/2011

theplague -- well said, and I went to to the UC Berekley and feel the same as you do..... F&F.

[BcemXAHA]

11:04 AM on 07/23/2011

Very well stated ThePlague, you are unfortunately preaching to a group that firmly believes that Israel has no right to defend herself.

You are fanned and you are most certainly faved.

[BreezyinVA]

01:49 PM on 07/25/2011

Speak for yourself.

[forbiddenplanet]

09:19 AM on 07/22/2011

Flotilla Madness continues with no end in sight. Never mind that the UN already agreed that the blockade of Gaza is legal. So 9 armed Turks are dead? So what? Syria kills 9 a day and there aren't even 5% the number of comments here. Enough already.

[ArthroughpadNY]

08:54 AM on 07/22/2011

Seems the Turks like the Israeli tech though, having completed the purchase of quite a number of Predator like remote aircraft assembled in Israel. The Israeli remotes look exactly like the Predators used by the US and indeed they should be since the initial drones were designed by an Israeli company that was taken over by the CIA in the USA.

[spindok]

09:59 AM on 07/22/2011

They are not fools. With trade of over $3 billion between Israel and Turkey. They would like to have the tourists back as Israeli vacationers switched to Greece after the Mavi incident.

The Heron drones are much larger than Predators. So far as I know they do not carry weapons but I suppose they could. They are long range surveillance aircraft, and can stay in the air for an extended period of time. The Turkish version is modified with thier own electronics. In Gaza they were used as targeting and recon platforms tightly coordinated with infantry.

[JanP]

11:40 AM on 07/23/2011

The Heron is just one of the many types of drones produced in Israel.

They also have drone boats and patrol vehicles.

Mrtyrdom aircraft, boats, and vehicles are so much better than martyred people.

[ArthroughpadNY]

09:09 AM on 07/22/2011

Please can you be anymore disgusting. Try harder.

[nlkatz]

08:45 AM on 07/22/2011

Why don't we wait for the UN Report due out any day and see whether Israel has any reason to apologize?

After all, Israel, lawfully, intercepted a flotilla that was set to break a lawful sea blockade on a territory, i.e. Gaza, in armed conflict with Israel. Of all the ships in the flotilla only one showed violent resistance to the Israeli policing act, thus the violence directed at the Israeli personnel was reciprocated by violence. All other ships didn't show any violence thus the result of the interception was peaceful.

If anyone need to apologize it is Turkey and its agents of the IHH who initiated the violence in their eagerness to brake the lawful blockade, while in so doing collaborating with the internationally designated terror organization, Hamas.

[Taxim]

09:36 AM on 07/22/2011

"Why don't we wait for the UN Report" Good idea. :)))))))

[JanP]

11:41 AM on 07/23/2011

The Hamas charter justifies blockading Gaza. After all, it calls for war, and killing Jews.

[Taxim]

05:41 AM on 07/22/2011

According to Hurriyet, Turkish and Israeli officials’ talks in Geneva did not only address issues regarding compensation and an apology, but also Israel’s demand that the “full shield” cover its soldiers. Under the Israeli proposal, Turkey and the families to be compensated will sign a formal agreement preventing any legal action or lawsuit being filed against Israel and Israeli soldiers.

[ArthroughpadNY]

08:50 AM on 07/22/2011

The Israelis aren't stupid. Again, before the flotilla people got on, the extremists expressed their desire to commit Jihad by using the Jews to kill themselves. You can't cover up the truth.

[Taxim]

04:52 AM on 07/22/2011

Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman has repeatedly said the Jewish state will not apologize for the raid, although privately officials acknowledge that upgrading relations with Ankara would be desirable.

Israel's Haaretz daily reported on Sunday that the defense establishment in the Jewish state wanted to see ties with Turkey repaired, even supporting an apology to Ankara over the 2010 raid.

[ArthroughpadNY]

08:51 AM on 07/22/2011

So? The Israelis have nothing to apologize for. In fact the Turks should apologize for letting people board the flotilla uninspected so they were able to smuggle knives and poles. It is just a matter of time before Turkey goes the way of the dictator. It will happen, the only doubt I have is when.

[Nwo2012]

09:18 AM on 07/22/2011

Knives and poles?!

Now WHY would they be on a ship?

*eyeroll*

[Sonic hedgehog]

09:28 AM on 07/22/2011

Knives? Really? I've been to several cruise ships and ferrys, I've never seen signs banning kitchen knives in any one of them.

[JanP]

11:44 AM on 07/23/2011

Haaretz is a far Left newspaper and does nto represent the majority of Israelis.

While most Israelis would liek to see relations with turkey restored, I don't see how it is possible. Turkey wants Israeli weapons. They were going to buy and assemble 1,000 Merkava III tanks but that got cancelled.

How can Israel sele them military equipment with Turkey new-found ties with Iran and syria?

[Taxim]

01:05 PM on 07/23/2011

Although it relatively low circulation, Haaretz is considered Israel's most influential daily newspaper. Surveys show that Haaretz readership has a higher-than-average education, income, and wealth.

[Taxim]

01:07 PM on 07/23/2011

BTW, Turkey is a Nato member and has no problem acquiring any weapon they want.