Ayalon: Business as usual
Photo: AP
Ayalon: Israel will benefit from my conduct
Deputy FM defends himself against criticism, says Turkey will watch what it says from now on
Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon continued to defend himself against criticism saying he humiliated
the Turkish ambassador Thursday, and said Israel
would benefit from the manner in which he handled the diplomatic incident with Turkey.
"It's just business as usual," his office said in a statement. "Israel will benefit from the manner in which MK Ayalon handled the crisis. The result is that today Turkey will be more careful with its statements.
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Ayalon's office added that he was disappointed with the 16 MKs who sent a letter of apology to Turkish Ambassador Ahmet Oguz Celikkol.
"Where have they been for the past two years, in which the Turkish leadership attacked Israel time after time, even when it was only doing what was required to defend its citizens from rockets of terror from Gaza?" the statement said.
"Now they remember to write a letter of apology, instead of standing up for the State of Israel and its right to defend its citizens."
Ayalon has not succeeded in achieving support for his position, despite expectations that other right-wing officials would back him. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu justified the criticism against Turkey on Wednesday, but clarified that the steps taken to reprimand the ambassador should have been more diplomatic.
President Shimon Peres, who was instrumental in getting Ayalon to send a letter of apology to the Turkish government, also criticized his conduct.
