Friday, March 22, 2013

Israel apologizes to Turkey for act of piracy.


You may remember that, as part of their illegal blockade of all commerce and aid to Gaza, Israeli commandos attacked a Turkish ship carrying supplies in international waters and during the attack gunned down 9 unarmed people including a Turkish citizen. After what was arguably Ben "Bugsy" Netanyahu's proudest moment, Turkey severed relations with Israel.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel on Friday apologized in a personal phone call to Turkey’s prime minister for a deadly commando raid on a Turkish ship in 2010, in a sudden reconciliation between the two countries that was partly brokered by President Obama during his visit to Israel this week, according to Israeli, Turkish and American officials.

In the call, Mr. Netanyahu expressed regret for the raid, which took place as Israeli troops were enforcing an aid embargo on Gaza, and offered compensation, Turkish and Israeli officials said. And after years of holding out for a public apology for the deaths, the Turkish prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, accepted Israel’s gesture in the phone call.

Afterward, officials from both countries said that diplomatic relations had been fully restored and that ambassadors would be reinstated.
Lord knows what was promised to Turkey, but it couldn't have come cheap.

Comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]





<< Home

This page is powered by Blogger. Isn't yours?

Subscribe to Posts [Atom]