Istanbul: Turkey has dismissed claims that it will agree to extending the release date of an already much-delayed United Nations’ Mavi Marmara report to give Israeli-Turkish reconciliation a chance and said the deadline for an Israeli apology is the release date of the flotilla report.
The Israeli media reported earlier this week that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asked the UN to extend the flotilla report for six months again in order to gain political strength in Israel’s coalition government to apologize to Turkey. The UN has already repeatedly postponed the completed report several times to give Turkey and Israel time to bury disagreements stemming from last year’s flotilla incident.
Turkish-Israeli relations were badly damaged after Israeli naval commandos stormed the Mavi Marmara ship carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza to breach an Israeli naval blockade, killing nine Turkish civilians, including an American citizen. Turkey demands an official apology and compensation for the families of victims. Israel says its soldiers acted in self-defense.
“We cannot accept a six-month extension. The release date of the UN report is the last date for us. We will put Plan B into play if no [Israeli] apology,” Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu told the Today’s Zaman and Hürriyet dailies in a joint interview, without further elaborating.
Sources said Davutoğlu might return to Ankara from Paris on Thursday evening or Friday morning after attending the Libya meeting instead of proceeding to Poland to participate in an EU gathering if the UN releases the flotilla report. He is expected to announce Turkey’s reaction and position on the report and fly to Poland to participate in the EU meeting.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan stated on July 23 that Turkey now intends to move on to “Plan B” with respect to the Israeli apology conundrum, which will include a campaign against Israel to be carried out in UN institutions, legal action against senior Israeli figures in European courts and a hold on military cooperation between Turkey and Israel. Davutoğlu also warned Israel on Aug. 20 while on a trip to South Africa that relations between Turkey and Israel would only worsen if an apology was not forthcoming following the release of the Palmer report. He said relations will not remain as they are now, adding, “They will deteriorate even more, as the current situation cannot be sustained.”
The UN report is expected to be released in early September by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
Davutoğlu, who is currently in Paris to attend a Libya meeting and will then proceed to Poland to participate in an EU gathering, said he is closely following developments surrounding the UN report. The last time the
release of the UN report was postponed was two weeks ago, but there were mixed claims about which side had requested the delay.
The UN panel investigating the May 31, 2010 raid was expected to present its findings to UN’s Ban on Aug. 22, but the release of the report was delayed.
The release of the report was postponed and the request for the delay came from Israel, as in past postponements, Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Selçuk Ünal then said. The Israeli side, on the other hand, had presented a different account, saying Turkey requested the postponement.
On Aug. 21, Israeli newspaper Haaretz quoted an Israeli diplomatic source as saying Turkey asked for the postponement. The US government has expressed its support for the Turkish request to delay the report, and Israel has not opposed the move and the decision lies with the UN chief, Haaretz had said.
Davutoğlu stressed that all requests to postpone the UN panel report came from Israel and the delay was agreed to because Israel always said it is ready to negotiate to meet Turkey’s demands. “We patiently waited for Israel to decide. It seems Israel has some difficulty in making a decision. Turkey has already determined its position on this issue. We have already expressed that we cannot accept that,” Davutoğlu said, referring to the delay of the report.
Both Israel and Turkey received the draft of the report before. The UN committee reportedly decided in the report that Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza is in line with international law, and therefore Israeli actions to stop the flotilla were also legal. The report also criticizes the Turkish government and highlights the relationship between the government and the Turkish charity group İHH, the group that owned the raided ship, the Mavi Marmara.
The report also states that while Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers acted in self-defense, they used disproportionate force that led to the death of nine Turkish citizens. The report recommends that Israel pay compensation to the families of the dead and injured Turkish citizens, which Israel has already said it is willing to do.
Davutoğlu underlined that the delay of the report depends on the UN and that Turkey, he said, is not going to “order the UN to announce the report or not,” adding that Turkey will fulfill whatever is required when the UN announces the report. According to Davutoğlu, the report will not be a “jointly approved report” and that there might also be some elements that Turkey won’t agree to. “We will unveil our position regarding those [elements],” Davutoğlu added.
Davutoğlu downplayed the importance of the report unless Israel extends an official apology and said Israel already is aware of Turkey’s position on the apology, compensation and Turkey’s demand to lift the blockade on Gaza.
Davutoğlu underlined Turkey’s determination to putting Plan B into play and said that in fact Turkey and Israel agree on many differences, including the apology, but added that Israel stepped back at the last minute due to intra-coalition squabbles while making a political decision. He explained that Turkey has determined a very clear and principled position and that it will also do what is necessary. “[Turkey] will impose sanctions which both Israel and other international parties are aware of,” Davutoğlu vowed.
The Israeli media extensively reported that Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman and Defense Minister Ehud Barak are at odds over whether Israel should offer an official apology to Turkey. Barak, who is touted as the most pro-Turkish minister in the Israeli coalition government, is considering renewing defense exports to Turkey.
The total estimated value of the current military contracts that Turkey has awarded to Israeli companies amounts to $1.8 billion. This figure comprises a significant amount of the two nations’ total annual trade volume of $2.6 billion. Turkey had cancelled dozens of military agreements, war games and military projects with Israel following the lethal Israeli raid of the Mavi Marmara in May of last year.
Barak thinks that an official apology to Turkey will halt Turkey’s decision to further file lawsuits against Israeli soldiers. Lieberman disagrees, claiming that Turkey will file lawsuits against Israeli soldiers participating in the Mavi Marmara raid if Israel accepts its wrongdoing by extending an apology.
According to Turkesh English Daily The Zaman, Turkey will support Palestine’s UN upgrade even if Israel apologizes
The Turkish foreign minister also said Palestinians’ statehood bid in the UN is an issue separate from the Mavi Marmara report and that the flotilla incident is about killing Turkish nationals in international waters, adding that it is the natural right of Turkey to hold Israel accountable. Davutoğlu said Turkey will further look into this no matter what fate Palestinians faces during their statehood bid in the UN.“But our position on the Palestinian issue is also clear. We support Palestine on this issue and we are making every effort for a UN decision in recognition of Palestine,” Davutoğlu stressed.
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