July 8, 2011
Turkey PM: Israel must still apologize for last year’s Gaza flotilla raid
Erdogan says that if Israel wants to normalize ties with Turkey it must also pay compensation to victims of the flotilla raid and lift its blockade of Gaza.
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Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday that it was “unthinkable” to normalize ties with Israel unless Israel apologized for the killing of nine pro-Palestinian Turkish activists aboard the Mavi Marmara ship bound for the Gaza Strip last year.
Erdogan also said that two other conditions for the normilization of ties were Israel lifting its blockade of Gaza and Israel paying compensation to the victims of the flotilla raid.
Erdogan’s statements came during a speech to the Turkish parliament unveiling his new government’s program.
“Normalization of relations between the two countries is unthinkable unless Israel apologizes for this illegal act which is against all international law and values, pays compensation to the relatives of those who lost their lives in this atrocious event and lifts the embargo on Gaza,” Erdogan said, to the applause of his AK Party lawmakers.
Read more at Haaretz.com.
