Turkey may not send Israel envoy back
Government official says Ankara considering downgrading diplomatic relations with Jewish state, reviewing economic and military cooperation unless Jerusalem apologizes for flotilla raid, returns seized ships, agrees to an international investigation and offers compensation for victims
A government official says Turkey is considering downgrading diplomatic relations with Israel and reviewing economic and military cooperation unless Jerusalem takes steps to make amends for the deadly raid on Gaza-bound aid ships.
The official said Thursday Turkey wants Israel to apologize for the raid, return the seized ships, agree to an international investigation and offer compensation for the victims. The official spoke on condition of anonymity in line with government rules.
The official said Turkey's envoy will not return if demands are not met "within a reasonable timeframe."
Turkey is also looking into the possibility of freezing some cooperation projects.
The May 31 raid killed nine activists. Israel says its commandos were acting in self-defense.
Meanwhile, Turkish newspaper Hurriyet reported that despite Ankara's harsh response to the flotilla incident, the Turkish government plans to practice caution in the implementation of its moves against Israel.
A diplomatic source told the newspaper that "it's always easy to destroy relations and difficult to restore them. We are looking into the negative implications of the possible moves."
According to the source, "We are preparing a road map which includes a number of responses, including reducing the level of representation."
