Israel Matzav

Turkey threatens to cut ties with Israel

Turkey has threatened to cut off diplomatic relations with Israel unless Israel apologizes for blocking the IHH terror group from reaching Gaza. Israel is still refusing to apologize for defending itself.

[Foreign Minister] Ahmet Davutoglu reportedly said “relations will be broken” if Jerusalem does not issue an apology or agree to the establishment of an international commission of inquiry into the deadly clash between its navy commandos and the activists on board the aid ship aiming to break the blockade on the Strip.

Davutoglu was quoted as saying that Turkey would not permit Israeli military flights in its airspace. He conceded that in the event that an Israeli committee investigated the incident rather than an international one, as Jerusalem demands, Turkey would be content with an admission “that the raid was unjust.”

But no apologies are forthcoming.

Turkey's Hurriyet newspaper earlier quoted Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu as saying that Israel has three paths. "It either apologizes, or accepts the findings from an international commission investigating the raid, or Turkey will cut off ties," the daily quoted Davutoglu as saying.

But Lieberman rejected this possibility. "We don't have any intention to apologize. We think that the opposite is true," he told reporters after meeting Latvia's foreign minister during a visit to the Baltic state.

"We are concerned about what we have been seeing and hearing from Turkish officials, such as the possible Turkish vote against Iran sanctions at the UN Security Council," said Lieberman. "Such remarks are part of Turkey's about-face and new policy, which is an internal affair in which we cannot meddle."

On Sunday, Turkey announced that it would not take part in a naval exercise with the United States and Israel.

Still, I see progress here. Turkey seems desperate for anything to show that they've saved their honor. When this first started, they wanted an apology and compensation and an inquiry. Now, it's all being stated in the alternative. And they still have not cut off diplomatic relations which I thought they would do some time ago.

Amazing what happens when you find your spinal column - eh Bibi?

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 11:58 PM