Israel has expressed surprise that Turkey requested Interpol to arrest Rav Aluf Gabi Ashkenazi, an ex-chief of the Israeli General Staff, General Eliezer Alfred Maron, ex-chief of the Naval Forces, Major-General Amos Yadlin, ex-head of Military Intelligence, and General Avishay Levi, ex-head of Intelligence of the Israeli Naval Forces. Ankara prosecutors demand life imprisonment for these officials. The Israeli Foreign Ministry expressed surprise at the decision of the Istanbul court, because Turkish Prime Minister had expressed readiness to sign an agreement on normalization of relations with Israel just a week ago.
Erdogan said back then that the sides had reached an agreement on compensation for the families of the Mavi Marmara Flotilla crew members killed in the operation. The only dispute left was humanitarian aid for Palestinians. In exchange for the $21 million in compensation Israel was supposed to pay, Turkey promised to adopt a law guaranteeing that the military responsible for the special operation would not be prosecuted. The same agreement was supposed to close cases against those officers.
On the other hand, the process has a certain level of predictability, considering that Ugur Soleiman, one of the Turks gravely injured in the attack on the flotilla, died last week. The Israeli Foreign Ministry says that his death could delay normalization of ties with Turkey. Erdogan reacted by quoting two anti-Jewish passages from the Quran. On a visit to Soma, Erdogan called a protester “the seed of Israel.” It is noteworthy that Erdogan does not say things without actually meaning them.
Israel has expressed surprise that Turkey requested Interpol to arrest Rav Aluf Gabi Ashkenazi, an ex-chief of the Israeli General Staff, General Eliezer Alfred Maron, ex-chief of the Naval Forces, Major-General Amos Yadlin, ex-head of Military Intelligence, and General Avishay Levi, ex-head of Intelligence of the Israeli Naval Forces. Ankara prosecutors demand life imprisonment for these officials. The Israeli Foreign Ministry expressed surprise at the decision of the Istanbul court, because Turkish Prime Minister had expressed readiness to sign an agreement on normalization of relations with Israel just a week ago.Erdogan said back then that the sides had reached an agreement on compensation for the families of the Mavi Marmara Flotilla crew members killed in the operation. The only dispute left was humanitarian aid for Palestinians. In exchange for the $21 million in compensation Israel was supposed to pay, Turkey promised to adopt a law guaranteeing that the military responsible for the special operation would not be prosecuted. The same agreement was supposed to close cases against those officers.On the other hand, the process has a certain level of predictability, considering that Ugur Soleiman, one of the Turks gravely injured in the attack on the flotilla, died last week. The Israeli Foreign Ministry says that his death could delay normalization of ties with Turkey. Erdogan reacted by quoting two anti-Jewish passages from the Quran. On a visit to Soma, Erdogan called a protester “the seed of Israel.” It is noteworthy that Erdogan does not say things without actually meaning the
