Israel will ‘never apologize’ for Gaza flotilla raid

JERUSALEM - Israel’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor has said that the government will never apologize for the commando raid on the international aid convoy to Gaza.

Palmor’s comments come after Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said that his country would sever diplomatic ties with Israel unless it apologized over the operation which left nine people dead, all of them Turkish nationals.

“When you want an apology, you don’t use threats or ultimatums,” The Telegraph quoted Palmor, as saying.

“Everything leads us to believe that Turkey has another agenda in mind. Israel will never apologize for defending its citizens,” he added.

Earlier, Davutoglu had said that “relations will be broken” unless Israel apologizes for the May 31 attack or admits the raid was unjust.

The minister also said that Turkey had closed its airspace to all Israeli military flights in reaction to the raid.

Israel has also rejected calls from the United Nations and by governments all over the world for an international investigation into its raid on the aid flotilla.

On May 31, Israeli forces had attacked the flotilla of aid-carrying ships aiming to break the country’s siege on Gaza.

Nine people were killed and dozens injured when troops intercepted the convoy dubbed ‘the Freedom Flotilla’.

The flotilla was attacked in international waters, 65 kilometres off the Gaza coast.

Footage from the flotilla’s lead vessel, the Mavi Marmara, showed armed Israeli soldiers boarding the ship and helicopters flying overhead. (ANI)