Nadene Goldfoot
Instead of doing things to get back into a peaceful state with Israel, Turkey has done the opposite. An Istanbul court allowed an indictment Monday against 4 Israeli military men for involvement in the raid on their Turkish boat that was breaching Israel's naval blockade of Gaza back in May 2010. They were breaking the law knowing full well what Israel would be doing and they're suing.
Israel's soldiers had to act in self defense. They did not board the ship with intentions to kill people aboard, only to check out what they were carrying to make sure it was not arms for the Palestinians. Even a UN report since then has found that Israel's naval blockade was legal and appropriate.
What had happened was that on May 31, 2010 (note the date) the Turkish boat, Mavi Marmar with 40 activists entered the waters at their own risk. They were part of a fleet of 6 boats. They had among them some very hardcore armed men who used iron bars and knives against the 13 Israeli naval commandos. The outcome was that 9 Turks were killed some others were wounded. 10 of the 13 commandos were injured seriously in the fracas. The other boats were peaceful, allowed the checking and that was it.
Erdogan has decided to kill the relationship between Israel and Turkey anyway using this as an excuse. They took on this bellicose attitude by sending out the ship in the first place knowing it would cause a problem. The strange thing is that his stance has not ended the trade going on between the two countries amounting to nearly $4 billion a year. Diplomats are frozen out from breaking bread with each other but not the merchants.
Reference: New York Times via daily alert.: Turkish court Indicts 4 Israeli Military Leaders by Isabel Kershner
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaza_flotilla_raid
Instead of doing things to get back into a peaceful state with Israel, Turkey has done the opposite. An Istanbul court allowed an indictment Monday against 4 Israeli military men for involvement in the raid on their Turkish boat that was breaching Israel's naval blockade of Gaza back in May 2010. They were breaking the law knowing full well what Israel would be doing and they're suing.
Israel's soldiers had to act in self defense. They did not board the ship with intentions to kill people aboard, only to check out what they were carrying to make sure it was not arms for the Palestinians. Even a UN report since then has found that Israel's naval blockade was legal and appropriate.
What had happened was that on May 31, 2010 (note the date) the Turkish boat, Mavi Marmar with 40 activists entered the waters at their own risk. They were part of a fleet of 6 boats. They had among them some very hardcore armed men who used iron bars and knives against the 13 Israeli naval commandos. The outcome was that 9 Turks were killed some others were wounded. 10 of the 13 commandos were injured seriously in the fracas. The other boats were peaceful, allowed the checking and that was it.
Erdogan has decided to kill the relationship between Israel and Turkey anyway using this as an excuse. They took on this bellicose attitude by sending out the ship in the first place knowing it would cause a problem. The strange thing is that his stance has not ended the trade going on between the two countries amounting to nearly $4 billion a year. Diplomats are frozen out from breaking bread with each other but not the merchants.
Reference: New York Times via daily alert.: Turkish court Indicts 4 Israeli Military Leaders by Isabel Kershner
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaza_flotilla_raid
