by AK Group
The Turkish government has for the first time voiced the existence of its "Plan B" against Israel if no apology comes before a July 27 deadline, a plan that will include measures to further freeze relations.
The statement comes amid an ongoing debate in the Israeli Cabinet over whether or not to formally apologize to Turkey over last year's Mavi Marmara incident.
"We are going to wait for their [Israel's] decision for a period of time. Then [if no apology comes], we will surely implement our Plan B," Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan told reporters Saturday at a joint press conference with Jordanian Prime Minister Maroof al-Bakhit.
Erdoğan's statement came just a day before the Israeli Cabinet was to hold a key meeting on the matter. Relations have been strained between Turkey and Israel since Israeli commandos killed nine Turkish people May 31, 2010, aboard a vessel carrying humanitarian goods to Gaza.
Ankara has demanded that Israel issue a formal apology, pay compensation to the families of the victims and lift its sea blockade on Gaza if it wants to mend ties with Turkey. A U.N. panel is set to announce its report on the May 31 incident on July 27, barring last-minute delays.
According to information obtained by the Hürriyet Daily News, the "Plan B" mentioned by Erdoğan will have a strong impact on further degrading relations between the two countries. One of the most important moves would be further reducing Turkey's level of diplomatic representation in Tel Aviv. After the Mavi Marmara incident, Turkey canceled the appointment of Kerim Uras as ambassador to Tel Aviv in a show of reaction. If Israel refuses to apologize, the current level of diplomatic representation, charge d'affaires, would be reduced to the level of second secretary.
Diplomatic sources told the Daily News on Sunday, however, that the government in Ankara was still hopeful about seeing an Israeli apology and that in order not to give a wrong message, Uras' appointment to a post other than Israel had once again been postponed. Uras was excluded from the Foreign Ministry's summer reshuffle, signaling that he would still be appointed to Tel Aviv if relations normalized.
Reducing Turkey's diplomatic representation would also affect Israel's plans to appoint an ambassador to Ankara in the upcoming months if current envoy Gabby Levy's plans to return his country can be carried out. Israel fears its new envoy would not be able to get a credential from Ankara if relations remain frozen.
Source: http://www.hudson-ny.org/2292/further-chill-in-store-if-israel-rebuffs-apology
Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.
5 comments:
If anyone should apologize it's Turkey! I'm amazed that Turkey (and many others) think Israel should apologize for basically killing a few terrorists. They were warned and even offered to have their 'aid' (which mainly consisted of broken medical equipment and expired medication) delivered to the Palestinians. But this entire incident was really never about aid to the Palestinians.
No apology, no payment, no cessation of the Gaza blockade. The Turks supported Hamas and Muslims who would murder Jews and return the survivors to dhimmi status.
Hmmm - Turkey commits genocide against the Armenians - a fact that the Turks don't even allow to be mentioned, much less apologize for. But when Israeli sailors kill 8 Turks in self-defense (a truth which has been proven by video footage) Turkey demands an apology from Israel? Help me - I'm confused!
Several of the IHH group on the Mavi Marmara had prepared in advance "martyr videos", showing they were preparing to die to advance Islam.
The IDF was forced to give them what they wanted - death and martyrdom to get them a free pass into heaven and a ticket for 72 virgins. Erdogan's seeking an apology for this shooting would be most inappropriate, particularly when it occurred in self defense as well. Was the force "disproportionate"? Under International Law the test is whether the force used was more than was needed in the mind of the military commander. Erdogan has not shown that it was.
Blame the EU & UN for such Islamist impudence. Their support the past 60 years against Israel has made the UN a corrupted Madarassa.
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