Israel must accept conditions: Erdogan

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan



Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=137499§ionid=351020204


Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan says the relationship with Israel depends on the acceptance of Ankara's conditions.

"Our relationship with Israel is closely linked to our conditions and what we asked of them. The future will be determined in the light of that," the Jordanian newspaper Al-Arab al-Youm quoted him as saying on Wednesday.

"We will not keep silent, and we won't stand idly following an assault on our rights and the breach of international laws," Erdogan told the newspaper in an interview.

Erdogan was referring to Israel's attack on the Gaza-bound Turkish vessel Mavi Marmara.
\
The Israeli military attacked the Freedom Flotilla in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea on May 31, killing nine Turkish citizens on board the Turkish-flagged M.V. Mavi Marmara and injuring about 50 other people who were part of the team on the six-ship convoy.

The Flotilla was carrying humanitarian assistance for the longsuffering people of Gaza.

"The policy practiced by Israel, especially after the attack on Gaza and the continued policy of settlement and finally the brutal attack on the Freedom Flotilla proved that Israel will not achieve peace and security via its policy of occupation and expansion," he told the paper.

He added that peace in the Middle East will not be achieved "without security and freedom, and life with dignity and humanity for the Palestinian people."

Erdogan has also demanded that Israel apologize for the attack on the Freedom Flotilla, calling it an inhuman act. "Simply we can call it as an act of piracy and a raid," he said.

However, Israel has still not apologized.