The Middle East is seeing another more political crisis, one that threatens to escalate into confrontation between Turkey and Israel. The UN Security Council has condemned an Israeli raid on the humanitarian "Freedom Flotilla" convoy in the neutral waters of the Mediterranean Sea and called for an investigation into the attack, which took the lives of civilians. The international community also demanded the release of the humanitarian convoy and the detained participants.
"Freedom Flotilla", consisted of six ships with 10.000 tons of medical aid, goods and construction materials for the civilians of Gaza Sector, and tried to break the Israeli naval blockade of the Palestinian enclave. However Israeli commandos carried out a raid on the ships, which were carrying some 600 human rights activists, mainly citizens of Turkey. Up to 19 people were killed during the operation. According to the Israeli side, the participants of the humanitarian mission provoked the commandos into opening fire. Israeli President Shimon Peres said that "the aim of the mission was provocation and rendering assistance to the terrorist organization Hamas".
Meanwhile there is no evidence that the "Flotilla" ships carried anything else but humanitarian aid. Moreover, besides Turkish citizens, citizens of the USA, UK, Germany, Serbia, Belgium, Ireland, Norway, Sweden, Greece, Australia, Canada, Malaysia, and Algeria were on board. The international community considered the arguments unconvincing and strongly condemned the raid on "Freedom Flotilla". The UN special rapporteur on the situation in the Palestinian territories, Richard Falk, called on the international community to hold criminally liable those responsible for the murders of the peaceful activists.
A joint UN-Russia manifest calls for a careful and unprejudiced examination of the circumstances of the Israeli raid. It also called for the immediate opening of a humanitarian corridor to Gaza. By all accounts, the tragedy in the Mediterranean will strain relations between Turkey and Israel, which were recently considered strategic partners. Turkish Premier Recep Erdogan called Israeli's actions "state terrorism". Right after the incident, joint military drills were cancelled. Erdogan claimed that the situation shows that Israel is not willing to establish and sustain peace in the region, and that not a single state has the right to try the patience of Turkey.
Turkish Parliamentarians decided to create an investigative commission to look into the violation of human rights during the Israeli attack. The members of the commission, headed by Zafar Uskul, will visit Israel during the investigation. The parliament has also made an appeal on this issue to the international human rights organizations, a number of UN departments and parliamentarian commissions of several countries. The Turkish president severely criticized Israel and called the attack on the humanitarian flotilla the biggest mistake in its history.
The USA has become the main defender of Israel. According to Vice-President Joe Biden, Israel had the right to stop the flotilla, as it has a right to protect itself and its vital interests. Commenting on the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, he laid all
responsibility on Hamas. The situation around the "Flotilla" also worsened US-Turkish relations. Along with other bilateral issues, the issue will force the US to revise its strategy in the Middle East. The lobbying of Israeli interests offends other countries in the region. US participation in the investigation could become a sort of compromise.
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