The U.S. government is considering to offer Turkey a deal in which Ankara would stop a second Gaza flotilla that is due to depart later this month in exchange for the opportunity to host an Israeli-Palestinian peace summit in Ankara, the Turkish newspaper Today\’s Zaman reported Friday.
The Obama administration expressed to the Turkish government its concerns about the next Gaza aid flotilla. \”We’ve been in consultation with the Turkish Government about this,\” Mark Toner, the State Department spokesman, said on Wednesday. \”We’ve shared our concerns.\”
The Israel Navy is prepared to intercept and take control of the ships participating in the new flotilla to the Gaza Strip, a senior Navy officer said Tuesday on the anniversary of the IDF operation to stop the Mavi Marmara that ended in the death of nine Turkish nationals.
President Obama urged Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to improve relations with Israel in the face of regional turmoil. \”The President expressed his hope to Prime Minister Erdogan that Turkey and Israel will find opportunities to improve their relations in the interest of regional stability,\” said an April 25 White House statement describing Obama\’s call with Erdogan.
The Israeli commission of inquiry into the Israeli Navy\’s interception of a Gaza-bound flotilla found that the naval blockade of Gaza does not break international law.
Israel will not apologize to Turkey for the interception of and loss of life on board a Gaza-bound ship.
Israel’s ambassador to Greece, Arye Mekel, was on the phone with a journalist earlier this month when the call came in that Israel’s Carmel region was up in flames. The Israeli prime minister needed to speak urgently with his Greek counterpart. Mekel quickly located Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou in Poland, where he was meeting with the Polish president. But a Papandreou aide told Mekel the meeting could not be interrupted. “Tell him Bibi Netanyahu wants to speak with him urgently,” Mekel pressed, using the Israeli prime minister’s nickname.
Israel is seen as \”a central threat to Turkey\” in a policy paper written by Turkey\’s National Security Council.
For Israel, the Jewish year 5770 was characterized by ups and downs in relations with the United States, growing international alienation and a virtual stalemate in Middle East peacemaking — until the summit meeting in Washington just before Rosh Hashanah.
Turkey\’s prime minister said his country has closed its airspace to Israeli planes.
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