Turkish Prime Minister Recep Erdogan said Friday that his country would continue to deal with Israel's deadly attack on Gaza-bound Freedom Flotilla convoy and would never stay passive towards what happened.
Al Manar TV, 19 June 2010
Anatolia news agency quoted Erdogan as saying that some people expected Turkey to remain silent and forget Israel's piracy, but this would not happen.
"There are groups expecting Turkey to stay silent and take in Israel's pirate conduct in the Mediterranean Sea and its political terrorism," Erdogan said during a Justice and Development Party conference in Ankara. "We did not sit silent faced with its pirate behavior and wrongdoings and we do no intend on remaining silent. We shall look for solutions within the international law."
In a related context, Human rights watch (HRW) stated on Thursday that the Israeli government has undermined the credibility of the committee appointed to investigate its deadly interception of Freedom Flotilla by preventing it from questioning Israeli soldiers or compelling the military to provide evidence.
It added that the Israeli government empowered the committee to request testimony or other evidence from any individual or entity, whether Israeli or foreign, except military or security personnel.
The organization also reiterated its criticism of Israel's blockade of Gaza as a form of mass punishment against the civilian population.
Israel should agree to international efforts to secure the immediate and sustained opening of border crossings for the flow of humanitarian aid as well as people and commercial goods in and out of Gaza, Human Rights Watch said.
The recent crisis with Turkey has prompted many Israelis to cancel their vacation in the country. Earlier this week, Turkish Airlines announced its plan to cancel a number of flights this month due to low sails on the Tel Aviv-Istanbul route.
The airline noted that only a few Israeli businessmen still fly with it to various Turkish destinations, whereas other Israeli passengers travel with it to the Far East, Europe and North America. The airline's Israel CEO said that since the raid Israelis have been banning the company and sails have dropped by 50%.
For its part, Israeli daily Haaretz reported Friday that the Knesset's committee on Foreign and defense affairs will discuss next Wednesday what it called the Armenian genocide, amid growing tension in the relations between Turkey and the Israeli occupation.
The Israeli daily said that this meeting will take place in the wake of Israel's killing of nine Turkish nationals during the attack on Freedom Flotilla convoy, noting that head of the committee Tzachi Hanegbi called for this meeting.
It pointed out that the Knesset was encouraged by the decision taken last March by the US congress' foreign affairs committee to label what happened to Armenians as genocide as well as the scathing attack launched on Wednesday by congressmen on Turkey for its relations with Hamas and Iran at the expense of its traditional ally Israel.
The congress adopted the resolution on the Armenians after considerable pressures made by the Zionist lobby in the US on its members.
“TURKEY STANCE TOWARDS IRAN HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH ISRAEL”
In respect to Iran, Erdogan said that Turkey's stance has nothing to do with Israel, the international flotilla or its relations with the US. "We have reached an agreement with Tehran which meets the American president's conditions under the patronage of Mr. Lula da Silva, president of Brazil."
He added that he told US President Barack Obama that should Tehran fail to meet the agreement's conditions it will lose Turkey and Brazil's support. "But Iran has fulfilled its promises and sent them to the IAEA. Unfortunately, the IAEA responded to them only on the morning of the UN's sanctions resolution."
