Ankara has asked Israel to agree to a toned-down version of the UN Secretary-General’s report on last year’s flotilla to Gaza strip.
It seems that Turkey has completely forgotten an Israeli apology for raiding last year’s flotilla to Gaza strip. More than this, Ankara has asked Israel to agree to a toned-down version of the UN Secretary-General's report on the flotilla.
Israeli daily, Haaretz, quoted a senior Israeli official as saying that the Turks was very worried" about the harsh criticism of Turkey it expected the report would contain.
The daily also said there was a secret meeting between the Director General of the Turkish Foreign Ministry, Feridun Sinirlioglu, and Israeli Vice Prime Minister Moshe Ya'alon in Geneve.
During the meeting, Sinirlioglu conveyed Turkey’s request for the Zionist entity to agree to a softened version as part of a “package deal” to end the crisis between the two countries over the flotilla, the official added.
A draft of the report, due to be released within two weeks, was given to Israel and Turkey about six weeks ago. The committee determined that Israel's naval blockade of Gaza is in keeping with international law, and therefore its actions to stop the flotilla were also legal.
According to the senior official, the report criticizes the Turkish government and highlights the relationship between it and IHH, the group that organized the flotilla.
The report also states that, while “Israel Defense Forces soldiers acted in self-defense, they used disproportionate force that led to the death of nine Turkish citizens”.
However, the report “recommends” that Israel pay compensation to the families of the dead and injured Turkish citizens.
The official said the Turks would like to soften the parts of the report that could cause a political storm in Turkey.
During the meeting with Ya'alon, the Turks suggested that the toning down of the report would lead to an end to the crisis and the normalization of relations between the countries, which would include the return of the Turkish ambassador to the occupied territories.
