28/12/2010 10:10
Israel 'will not apologize' to Turkey over flotilla deaths
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday ruled out making an apology to Turkey over an Israeli military raid on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla that killed nine Turkish activists.
"We will not apologize, but express our regrets to Turkey," the Israeli leader said in an interview with private television network Channel 10, AFP reports.
"We don't want our soldiers to be possibly hauled before international tribunals... our soldiers acted in accordance with standards," he said, stressing an apology could be interpreted as an admission of liability.
Netanyahu's comments came a day after Israel's right-wing Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman vowed the Jewish state would not apologize to Turkey for the May 31 commando raid.
Lieberman described as "a cheek" Ankara's demand for an apology before normalizing relations between the former allies.
"The ones who have to apologize are the government of Turkey for supporting terror," he said. "There will be no apology" from Israel.
Speaking to Channel 10, Netanyahu explained his foreign diplomatic chief's comments by saying: "In my coalition government, there are different points of view but the prime minister expresses the voice of the government."