If Israel Wants Forgiveness, It Must Act

By Agence France Presse (AFP)
Compiled by Daily Star staff
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Courtesy Of "The Daily Star"

Israel must make amends to be forgiven for a commando assault on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla, including apologizing for the attack and paying compensation, Turkish President Abdullah Gul told the French daily Le Monde.

Gul added that if Israel made no move to heal the rift, then Turkey could even decide to break diplomatic relations.

In an interview published on Friday, Gul said the Israeli attack at the end of May that killed nine activists was a “crime” which might have been carried out by the likes of Al-Qaeda rather than a sovereign state.

“It seems impossible to me to forgive or forget, unless there are some initiatives which could change the situation,” Gul was quoted as saying by Le Monde.

Asked what these might be, he said: “First, to ask pardon and to establish some sort of compensation.” He added that he also wanted to see an independent inquiry into the botched raid and a discussion on lifting Israel’s blockade of Gaza.

Asked if Turkey might break relations with Israel if the Israelis did nothing, Gul said: “Anything is possible.”

Israeli soldiers shot and killed the 9 Turkish nationals on May 31 after boarding a boat laden with humanitarian aid that was planning to breach the blockaded Gaza Strip.

Israel said the soldiers acted in self-defense after being attacked with knives and clubs.

Once a close ally of Israel, Turkey recalled its ambassador following the incident, cancelled joint military exercises and said trade and defense deals worth billions of dollars would be reduced to a minimum.

Separately, Philip Alston, the UN special rapporteur on extra-judicial executions, said any inquiry set up by Israel to investigate the Gaza flotilla incident “must be given a genuine capacity to find the facts” or it would not be credible.

To comply with international standards, he said, such an inquiry would have to be independent of the government and have full legal authority to obtain direct access to all relevant evidence, including the military personnel involved.

Israel has fended off a UN demand for an international investigation, instead accepting a US proposal for an Israeli inquiry with the participation of outside observers.

In other developments, Israel said on Friday it wants to enlist global support to improve the flow of civilian goods to the blockaded Gaza Strip, while seeing to it that weapons do not reach the Hamas-ruled territory. Israeli Premier Benjamin Netanyahu held talks on the blockade with Middle East envoy Tony Blair.

“The aim of the meeting was to recruit international support behind the principle that weapons and military supportive material will not reach Gaza or Hamas, while humanitarian and civilian goods may reach the area and its residents via additional means,” Netanyahu’s office said in a statement.

Israel further eased restrictions on goods to Gaza this week by announcing it would permit additional food items such as snack foods and carbonated beverages to be imported via Israeli-controlled crossings, starting next week.

The announcement was made on Wednesday as US President Barack Obama and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas met in Washington about the Gaza embargo and ways to advance Middle East peace talks. Obama also pledged $400 million in new US aid to the Palestinian Authority.

But exiled Hamas political leader Khaled Meshaal said on Friday the Islamist movement would not touch any of the US aid promised to the Palestinians. “The $400 million offered by [US President Barack) Obama are not for Gaza but for the Palestinian Authority which will distribute part of it in Gaza, but not to Hamas,” Meshaal told a news conference in Sudan’s capital.

“The money will be given to [Palestinian Prime minister] Salam Fayyad” in the occupied West Bank, he said.

Meshaal also urged Arab and Muslim states to give more humanitarian aid for vessels attempting to break the Israeli blockade. – Reuters, AFP

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