24/07/2010 12:37
Israel agrees to return to Turkey three captured ships
Israeli authorities have agreed to return to Turkey three vessels it seized in a raid on the international flotilla carrying aid to the Gaza Strip, according to the announcement by Turkey’s Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu.
“This was in any case something Israel had to do. We hope the other necessary steps will also be taken,” the state-run news agency Anatolia quotes Ahmet Davutoglu as saying Friday during a visit to the Vietnamese capital, Hanoi.
Turkey has repeatedly demanded that Israel submit to an international investigation into the May 31 deadly raid, resulting in 9 deaths among pro-Palestinian Turkish activists. Turkey demanded that Israel pay compensation and apologize to the families of those nine Turkish activists killed, as conditions for its restoration of full diplomatic relations with Israel. Turkey recalled its ambassador from Israel and is still threatening to cut off relations completely if Israel doesn’t meet the demands.
In the nearest future Turkish ships will be returned from Ashdod and Haifa.