Turkey closes airspace to Israel

Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan told reporters at the G20 meeting in Toronto that the country had closed its airspace to Israel, according to report by the government-run news agency Anatolia. 

Erdogan said that Turkey imposed the ban after the Israeli raid on the international aid flotilla to Gaza, which took place on May 31. The flotilla with pro-Palestinian activists on board included Turkish ships, which were captured by Israeli forces; the attack resulted in casualties – nine Turkish activist were killed, many others were reported wounded.

It’s not clear how long will last the ban; Turkey has already recalled its Ambassador from Israel and said that it would be sent back only if Israel apologizes for the deadly attack. In addition, Turkey cancelled joint Israeli-Turkish military exercises and demands for international investigation into the raid. Turkey wants Israel to return the seized ships and offer compensation for the victims.

Israeli armed forces raided the international aid flotilla on their way to Gaza; the attack was strongly condemned by the international community and organisations, including the United Nations. They all demanded on the international investigation into the raid. Israel has objected to an international inquiry into the operation and has set up its own investigative commission that includes two foreign observers.