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http://english.alarabiya.net
Erdogan says Turkish warships will escort aid vessels to Gaza
Turkey said on Thursday it will deploy warships to escort the country’s boats bringing humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip to protect them from any Israeli attack, raising fears of a potential naval confrontation with its former ally. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he would not allow a repetition of last year’s Israeli raid on aid flotilla that killed nine Turks. On May 31, 2011, Israeli commandos boarded a six-boat flotilla in international waters in a bid to stop it from breaching Israel’s blockade on Gaza. Israeli troops killed nine Turkish nationals on the ship Mavi Marmara in the ensuing confrontation, sparking a diplomatic row between the two countries that has strained relations to breaking point. The United Nations published a report last week condemning last year’s Israeli intervention – but saying the blockade itself was legal. Ankara expelled the Israeli ambassador and suspended all military ties, including defense-related trade contracts, in retaliation for Israel’s refusal to apologize for the raid. Referring to Erdogan’s comments, Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor said: “This is a statement well-worth not commenting on.” Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak said earlier on Thursday that Israel and Turkey will eventually mend fences rather than become foes, describing their unprecedented dispute over Gaza as “spilled milk.” Noting that an inquiry commissioned by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon had vindicated the blockade, Barak predicted that wider Middle East upheaval would help bring Israel back together with its Muslim ex-ally. “Ultimately this wave will pass. We recognize reality. They recognize reality,” Barak told Israel Radio. “We are the two countries that are most important to the West in the region ... I am certain that we can overcome these (disagreements).” But Erdogan appeared to raise the heat, saying NATO member Turkey has taken steps to patrol the Mediterranean, and vowed to stop the Jewish state from exploiting natural resources in the area. “You know that Israel has begun to declare that it has the right to act in exclusive economic areas in the Mediterranean,” Erdogan said, apparently in reference to Israeli plans to exploit offshore gas reserves found in areas that are also claimed by Lebanon. “You will see that it will not be the owner of this right, because Turkey, as a guarantor of the Turkish republic of north Cyprus, has taken steps in the area, and it will be decisive and holding fast to the right to monitor international waters in the east Mediterranean,” he said. Turkey says oil deals granted by the Greek Cypriot government, which represents the island in the European Union, are illegal as the borders of Cyprus remain undetermined while Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots pursue reunification talks. Turkey’s plan to flex its naval muscles may fuel Western unease about Turkey’s reliability as a NATO partner and its penchant for actions designed to court popularity in the Muslim world. Asked whether Israel might yet say sorry for the seizure of the Turkish vessel, Barak said: “Look, it’s spilled milk. It’s not important right now.” In addition to an apology, NATO-member Turkey has demanded that Israel end the Gaza blockade. Israel says the closure is needed to keep arms from reaching Palestinian guerrillas by sea.
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