Israel tells US it won't apologize to Turkey over Mavi Marmara raid

Benjamin Netanyahu

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu informed US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Tuesday that Israel will not apologize for the 2010 Gaza flotilla raid, news reports said on Wednesday, a development that is likely to dash hopes for a recovery in Turkish-Israeli ties in the foreseeable future.

In a telephone conversation with Clinton, Netanyahu said Israel does not intend to adopt an outline to restore its relationship with Turkey, Israeli daily Haaretz reported. “We're firm on not apologizing,” an Israeli official was separately quoted as saying by Reuters. The Israeli decision came days before the publication of the findings of a UN inquiry into the seizure of the flotilla ship, the Mavi Marmara, where the deaths occurred. The so-called Palmer report was repeatedly delayed to allow Israel and Turkey to try to mend fences amid concerns in Washington over the dispute between two countries that had been strategic partners in the Middle East. Israeli officials, citing advance copies of the report, have said they have no objection to the release of the report since it would vindicate Israel's blockade on the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip. The report is to be presented to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Monday. Ban is then expected to announce the report's findings on the following day, according to Israeli officials. The Israeli decision came after a report which said the United States has been pressuring Israel to apologize to Turkey over the deadly raid. Israeli diplomats in the US have recently received a communiqué from US Secretary of State Clinton stating that deterioration in Turkish-Israeli ties is harming American interests in the region, Israeli news site ynetnews.com reported earlier on Wednesday. The US reiterated its call for an Israeli apology when Clinton met with Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak during the latter's visit to the US three weeks ago. In their meeting, she urged Barak that Israel do all that it can to end the crisis, including apologizing to the Turks. The report said the US seeks closer ties with Turkey in view of the crisis in Syria, where the government launched a violent crackdown to crush anti-regime protests. Both the US and Turkey want an immediate end to violence and the two countries have been in close contact lately to discuss developments in Syria. Turkish-Israeli relations deteriorated sharply after the Mavi Marmara raid and Ankara says a recovery depends on a formal Israeli apology for the bloody takeover. The Israeli Cabinet has been reportedly divided over the issue, with hawkish government members such as Vice Prime Minister Moshe Yaalon and Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman categorically opposing such an apology. “God forbid we apologize,” Yaalon said at a meeting on Tuesday. “National pride is not just something people say on the street but it has strategic significance. If [Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip] Erdoğan goes around afterwards and says that he brought us to our knees, he will appear as a regional leader in the Middle East. He won't leave it alone, even after we apologize.” Yaalon also noted that the Palmer committee had ruled in favor of the Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip. "The Turks are not ready to accept this," he said. "But the relationship had deteriorated even before [the flotilla raid]. This is their policy, this is what they wanted, shame on them. So I said the Palmer Report needs to be published and I hope it will be published. Afterwards, we will meet [with the Turks]." Asked if Israel might change tack after the Palmer report's publication, the Israeli official told Reuters: “Why would we do that? We know the report supports our position.”

Israel tells US it won't apologize to Turkey over Mavi Marmara raid