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Israel to Turkey: No Apology for Marmara Raid
(Hurriyet-Turkey) Cihan Celik - Israel is ready to solve any outstanding disputes with its former ally Turkey, but it will not apologize for a deadly May 2010 raid on a Gaza-bound Turkish aid ship, Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman told a group of journalists from Turkey visiting Jerusalem. "[The Mavi Marmara mission] was a clear provocation and it was our right to protect the lives of our soldiers. Frankly speaking, Israel has no reason to apologize," he said. Lieberman noted: "[Turkish Prime Minister] Erdogan has repeatedly said that an apology will not improve the relations and that [Turkey] has additional conditions. Turkey has a long [list of] other conditions, including the lifting of the blockade on the Gaza Strip, [returning] to the border lines before 1967, compensation, etc." "We don't have any disputes with Turkey - [either] territorial or historical. The opposite is true. The Jewish people have lived for hundreds of years in [Turkey] in safety, even during World War II," he said.