May 25, 2012
Source: Press TV
A Turkish lawyer for the victims and the relatives of the victims of Israel’s 2010 assault on Mavi Marmara, the Turkish vessel, which was leading a Gaza-bound humanitarian fleet, says Tel Aviv had made a secret offer to silence his clients, Press TV reports.
On Thursday, Ramazan Ariturk, one of the lawyers representing 465 victims and victims’ relatives, revealed Israel’s proposal to pay his clients a lump sum of USD six million.
He said the Israeli regime had made the offer to him through an intermediary foreign ambassador in Ankara just over a month ago.
He said the money would have been paid to a Jewish foundation in Turkey for distribution followed by an “apology” from Tel Aviv in order to settle lawsuits against the Israeli military.
Ariturk said he had told the unnamed ambassador that he would not accept the offer as it was not moral.
The lawyer added that he had informed the Turkish Foreign Ministry of Israel’s proposal and his rejection, adding that officials with the ministry said his decision had been appropriate and thanked him for the refusal.
On May 31, 2010, Israeli forces attacked the humanitarian Freedom Flotilla in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea, killing nine Turkish nationals and injuring about 50 other activists, who were part of the six-ship convoy.
A Turkish national, Suleyman Soylemez, who was injured during the attack, is still in coma, according to Turkish media.
A Tel Aviv-imposed siege has been depriving 1.6 million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip of food, fuel, medicine, and other necessities since mid-June 2007.
MN/MAB/HN
Showing posts with label Mavi Marmara. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mavi Marmara. Show all posts
Friday, May 25, 2012
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Paper: Turkey indicts Israeli commanders over Mavi Marmara raid
May 24, 2012
Ma'an News Agency
Source:The Institute for Middle East Understanding
This article was originally published by the Ma'an News Agency and is republished with permission.
A Turkish prosecutor has prepared an indictment seeking life sentences for four former Israeli military commanders over their alleged involvement in the 2010 killing of nine Turks on a Gaza-bound aid ship, Turkish newspaper Sabah reported on Wednesday.
Relations between the regional powers deteriorated sharply after Israeli commandos raided the Mavi Marmara aid vessel in May 2010 to enforce a naval blockade of the Gaza Strip and killed nine Turks in clashes with activists on board the ship.
Turkey expelled Israel's ambassador and froze all military cooperation after a UN report into the incident released last September largely exonerated Israeli forces.
Sabah said it had seen details of the indictment prepared by Istanbul state prosecutor Mehmet Akif Ekinci and that it called for 10 life sentences to be given to each of the four commanders. It said the Istanbul chief prosecutor must approve the indictment before it is sent to the relevant court.
The prosecutor could not immediately be reached for comment.
The indictment was reported to accuse Israel's former Chief of General Staff Gabi Ashkenazi and three other retired senior military commanders of involvement in the raid and refers to them as "fugitive suspects", Sabah reported.
The 144-page indictment, it said, had been prepared after testimony from some 600 people, including 490 passengers from the six-ship flotilla and relatives of those who had died.
Correspondence from the Turkish prime minister's office, the foreign and justice ministries and the intelligence service had also helped the prosecutor draw up the indictment, it said.
In Jerusalem, an Israeli military spokeswoman had no immediate comment.
Turkey had previously said it would try to prosecute all Israelis responsible for crimes committed during the raid and the prosecutor had written to Israel seeking the names of those involved but had received no answer.
The UN report into the raid last September was meant to encourage a rapprochement between the two countries but ultimately deepened the rift when it concluded Israel had used unreasonable force but that the blockade on Gaza was legal.
Turkey was stung by Israel's refusal to make a formal apology and pay compensation to families of the dead.
Israel said its marines had been attacked by activists wielding metal bars, clubs and knives when they boarded the Mavi Marmara and had opened fire in self-defence.
Relations have been strained since the raid. Last week Turkey said it had scrambled military jets to intercept an Israeli plane that had violated northern Cypriot airspace and demanded an explanation. Israel declined to comment.
Ankara is also involved in a long-running dispute with Israel and Cyprus over who has the right to drill for energy reserves in the eastern Mediterranean.
Ma'an News Agency
Source:The Institute for Middle East Understanding
This article was originally published by the Ma'an News Agency and is republished with permission.
A Turkish prosecutor has prepared an indictment seeking life sentences for four former Israeli military commanders over their alleged involvement in the 2010 killing of nine Turks on a Gaza-bound aid ship, Turkish newspaper Sabah reported on Wednesday.
Relations between the regional powers deteriorated sharply after Israeli commandos raided the Mavi Marmara aid vessel in May 2010 to enforce a naval blockade of the Gaza Strip and killed nine Turks in clashes with activists on board the ship.
Turkey expelled Israel's ambassador and froze all military cooperation after a UN report into the incident released last September largely exonerated Israeli forces.
Sabah said it had seen details of the indictment prepared by Istanbul state prosecutor Mehmet Akif Ekinci and that it called for 10 life sentences to be given to each of the four commanders. It said the Istanbul chief prosecutor must approve the indictment before it is sent to the relevant court.
The prosecutor could not immediately be reached for comment.
The indictment was reported to accuse Israel's former Chief of General Staff Gabi Ashkenazi and three other retired senior military commanders of involvement in the raid and refers to them as "fugitive suspects", Sabah reported.
The 144-page indictment, it said, had been prepared after testimony from some 600 people, including 490 passengers from the six-ship flotilla and relatives of those who had died.
Correspondence from the Turkish prime minister's office, the foreign and justice ministries and the intelligence service had also helped the prosecutor draw up the indictment, it said.
In Jerusalem, an Israeli military spokeswoman had no immediate comment.
Turkey had previously said it would try to prosecute all Israelis responsible for crimes committed during the raid and the prosecutor had written to Israel seeking the names of those involved but had received no answer.
The UN report into the raid last September was meant to encourage a rapprochement between the two countries but ultimately deepened the rift when it concluded Israel had used unreasonable force but that the blockade on Gaza was legal.
Turkey was stung by Israel's refusal to make a formal apology and pay compensation to families of the dead.
Israel said its marines had been attacked by activists wielding metal bars, clubs and knives when they boarded the Mavi Marmara and had opened fire in self-defence.
Relations have been strained since the raid. Last week Turkey said it had scrambled military jets to intercept an Israeli plane that had violated northern Cypriot airspace and demanded an explanation. Israel declined to comment.
Ankara is also involved in a long-running dispute with Israel and Cyprus over who has the right to drill for energy reserves in the eastern Mediterranean.
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Israel's Lieberman 'plans to punish Turkey'
10/09/2011
Source:maannews.net
TEL AVIV, Israel (Ma'an) -- Israel's foreign ministry has prepared a series of "harsh measures" to "punish" Turkey's leadership for diplomatic slights, Israeli media reported Friday.
Israel will facilitate cooperation with the Armenians, Turkey's historic rivals, and may even lobby for international recognition of the Armenian holocaust, the Hebrew-language daily Yedioth Ahronoth reported.
Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman is also planning to meet with Kurdish rebels in Europe in order to “cooperate with them and boost them in every possible area,” Yedioth's English website said.
"We’ll exact a price from Erdogan that will prove to him that messing with Israel doesn’t pay off," Lieberman was quoted as saying. "Turkey better treat us with respect and common decency."
Another means in Lieberman’s “toolbox,” according to the news site Ynet, is a diplomatic campaign where Israeli missions worldwide will be instructed to report Turkish moves against minorities.
The diplomatic crisis between Turkey and Israel that was sparked by the flotilla raid took a turn for the worse in the last week, following publication of a UN probe into the incident, which found Israel's naval blockade to be legal although it chastised Israel for using "excessive" force in the raid.
Israel has so far refused to apologize for the bloodshed and called the report's conclusions a vindication of its stance, deeply angering Turkey.
Turkey responded to the report by expelling Israel's ambassador, suspending military agreements with Israel and warning it was considering lodging a legal case against Israel at the International Criminal Court.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, meanwhile, vowed to accompany any future aid flotillas to Gaza with naval warships, Al Jazeera television quoted him as saying Thursday.
Earlier, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak played down the diplomatic crisis, saying the dispute "will pass."
But he reiterated his government's line that Israel would not apologize for the operation, which targeted a flotilla of ships trying to break Israel's naval blockade on Gaza, and cost the lives of nine Turkish nationals.
"The current wave will pass, I am sure that we will get over all this," he told public radio just days after Ankara expelled the Israeli ambassador and suspended all military ties and defense trade.
"Turkey is not an enemy of Israel."
"Both we and the Turks know the reality: our two countries are very important to the West. The real problem for the West in this region is Syria, and what is happening in Egypt and Iran, not Turkey," he added.
The minister admitted once again that "errors may have occurred in the way in which force was used" when naval commandos boarded the Turkish ferry leading the flotilla.
But Barak stressed that Israel had already expressed its "regret" over the loss of human life without making the formal apology that Turkey has demanded.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday insisted he wanted to mend the split with Turkey but also praised forces who took part the naval operation.
Print
Source:maannews.net
TEL AVIV, Israel (Ma'an) -- Israel's foreign ministry has prepared a series of "harsh measures" to "punish" Turkey's leadership for diplomatic slights, Israeli media reported Friday.
Israel will facilitate cooperation with the Armenians, Turkey's historic rivals, and may even lobby for international recognition of the Armenian holocaust, the Hebrew-language daily Yedioth Ahronoth reported.
Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman is also planning to meet with Kurdish rebels in Europe in order to “cooperate with them and boost them in every possible area,” Yedioth's English website said.
"We’ll exact a price from Erdogan that will prove to him that messing with Israel doesn’t pay off," Lieberman was quoted as saying. "Turkey better treat us with respect and common decency."
Another means in Lieberman’s “toolbox,” according to the news site Ynet, is a diplomatic campaign where Israeli missions worldwide will be instructed to report Turkish moves against minorities.
The diplomatic crisis between Turkey and Israel that was sparked by the flotilla raid took a turn for the worse in the last week, following publication of a UN probe into the incident, which found Israel's naval blockade to be legal although it chastised Israel for using "excessive" force in the raid.
Israel has so far refused to apologize for the bloodshed and called the report's conclusions a vindication of its stance, deeply angering Turkey.
Turkey responded to the report by expelling Israel's ambassador, suspending military agreements with Israel and warning it was considering lodging a legal case against Israel at the International Criminal Court.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, meanwhile, vowed to accompany any future aid flotillas to Gaza with naval warships, Al Jazeera television quoted him as saying Thursday.
Earlier, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak played down the diplomatic crisis, saying the dispute "will pass."
But he reiterated his government's line that Israel would not apologize for the operation, which targeted a flotilla of ships trying to break Israel's naval blockade on Gaza, and cost the lives of nine Turkish nationals.
"The current wave will pass, I am sure that we will get over all this," he told public radio just days after Ankara expelled the Israeli ambassador and suspended all military ties and defense trade.
"Turkey is not an enemy of Israel."
"Both we and the Turks know the reality: our two countries are very important to the West. The real problem for the West in this region is Syria, and what is happening in Egypt and Iran, not Turkey," he added.
The minister admitted once again that "errors may have occurred in the way in which force was used" when naval commandos boarded the Turkish ferry leading the flotilla.
But Barak stressed that Israel had already expressed its "regret" over the loss of human life without making the formal apology that Turkey has demanded.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday insisted he wanted to mend the split with Turkey but also praised forces who took part the naval operation.
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