Israel accepts, Turkey rejects Palmer Commission report
Although it won't officially be released until Friday, Israel has accepted and Turkey has rejected the Palmer Commission report on the Mavi Marmara incident. Israel has also said once again that it will not apologize to Turkey. This is from the third link. While Israel is aware of the implications of its decision to refrain from issuing an apology, "we cannot conduct ourselves based on ultimatums," the official said. Another senior official estimated in a talk with Ynet that while the Turkish government may take steps against Israel and not return its ambassador to Tel Aviv, Ankara will not be severing its ties with Jerusalem.According to YNet, the vote in the inner cabinet was actually 4-4 with Barak and Meridor (expected) voting in favor of an apology along with Begin and Steinitz (go and figure). But Netanyahu voted no and his vote carried. Netanyahu knows that the public does not want to apologize.
"The severing of ties goes against Turkey's strategic interests," he said. "They wish to engage in a policy of mediating between everyone."
An official familiar with the complexities of Israel-Turkey relations said earlier Thursday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has no intention of issuing an apology to Ankara.
"The PM is determined not to issue an apology," he said, adding that "Jerusalem has conveyed messages to Washington whereby it does not intend to apologize for the incident."
So here is the Turkish reaction:
In an appendix to the document, Turkey's [member of the Palmer Commission] Ozdem Sanberk rejected the Palmer Report's conclusions on the following issues: The question of the legality of the blockade imposed on Gaza by Israel; the actions of the flotilla; and naval blockades in general.Atrocities? No one was tortured, no one was raped, and no one was murdered in cold blood.
"The wording in the report is not satisfactory in describing the actual extent of the atrocities that the victims have been subjected to," the Turkish representative wrote in an appendix. "This includes the scope of the maltreatment suffered by the passengers in the hands of Israeli soldiers and officials."
After expanding on Ankara's various objections, Sanberk wrote: "I reject and dissociate myself from the relevant parts and paragraphs of the report," proceeding to cite a long list of the document's clauses and findings.
As opposed to Turkey, Israel's representative to the committee, Joseph Ciechanover, adopted the UN probe.
Are the Turks bluffing? I doubt it. The question is whether and how they will try to get NATO involved. That could be interesting.
Labels: Mavi Marmara, NATO, Palmer Commission, Turkey, Turkish obsession with Israel
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 1:44 AM
3 Comments:
I think that puts the issue behind Israel. Israel tried to reach a compromise with Turkey but the Turks wouldn't have it.
The Palmer Report doesn't tell us anything we didn't already know for the past year. If the Turks can't reconcile themselves to the truth, that's their problem.
Israel has been vindicated.
"Are the Turks bluffing? I doubt it. The question is whether and how they will try to get NATO involved. That could be interesting."
It will be Hillary, Susan, and whats-her-name (Cass Sunstein's wife)... they are trying to get a definition on paper that will define ANY response by Israel to ANY type of attack as something that will trigger the U.N.'s "responsibility to protect." Two ways NATO can be induced to attack Israel would be 1) Palestinians and other neighbors attacking Israel hard enough that the U.N. will trigger "responsibility to protect" and then subcontract it to NATO, as they've set up and practiced in Libya. And the other would be 2) for Turkey to set up an attack that provokes a response from Israel that meets the (new revised) U.N./NATO definition (which I would bet the U.N. and the 3 ladies are working to get NATO to comport with the "responsibility to protect" definition) requiring NATO to jump in there with Turkey (a NATO member). This Palmer phase is just laying down the paperwork, getting the "responsibility to protect" defined downward from the traditional NATO definition, so NATO can be sucked in to participate in the deletion of Israel.
Also, remember you had a post recently that the old school Ataturk military commanders all just quit in Turkey. Maybe they saw this path and decided it is BS.
Turkey and the 3 ladies are not finished.
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