No apology over aid flotilla raid, Netanyahu insists

Occupied Jerusalem: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said yesterday he would not apologise to Turkey over a raid that killed nine Turks on a ship bound for Gaza, reiterating his position after Ankara downgraded its relations with the Jewish state.

Turkey on Friday froze all military pacts with Israel, expelled the Israeli ambassador and threatened legal sanctions after a UN report on the May 2010 raid failed to trigger an Israeli apology.

The report said that Israel had used unreasonable force in the raid of the Turkish vessel Mavi Marmara, but added that pro-Palestinian activists onboard mounted organised and violent resistance.

End to blockade sought

Turkey also wants an end to Israel's blockade of Gaza and compensation for the families of the those killed in the raid.

"We do not need to apologise that the naval commandos defended themselves against the violent activists," Netanyahu said at the weekly cabinet meeting, echoing a statement issued by his office on Friday.

The UN report by a four-member panel said Israel's naval blockade of Gaza was a legitimate security measure to prevent weapons from reaching the enclave but the amount of force used by the Israeli commandos was ‘excessive and unreasonable'.

Turkey said it will now pursue criminal cases against Israeli officials responsible for the killings on board the Mavi Marmara, which the crew said was delivering aid to Gaza. Ankara also rejected the report's finding on the blockade and said it would apply for an investigation by the International Court of Justice into its legality.

Statement: OIC slams UN report

The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) condemned yesterday a UN report which it said "whitewashes" Israel's deadly 2010 raid on a Turkish-led aid flotilla.

"The UN panel of inquiry's report failed to reflect an objective and unbiased position," OIC Secretary General Ekmel Al Deen Ihsanoglu said in a statement. "The OIC cannot accept any report that would whitewash Israel's attack on the humanitarian flotilla and condone Israel's illegal blockade against the Palestinian civilians," he said.

Ihsanoglu expressed his support for Turkey's recently declared plans to take Israel to the International Criminal Court in The Hague over the raid.

The OIC also called for another independent inquiry into the flotilla raid and called on the international community to exert "as much pressure as possible" on Israel to end its four-year Gaza blockade. It said that Israel, as an "occupying power must ensure the unimpeded provision of humanitarian assistance" to the Palestinians.

—AFP