{"id":19576,"date":"2010-06-08T07:54:36","date_gmt":"2010-06-08T05:54:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.turkishforum.com.tr\/en\/content\/?p=19576"},"modified":"2023-04-30T14:57:53","modified_gmt":"2023-04-30T11:57:53","slug":"this-israeli-government-has-gone-too-far","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/2010\/06\/08\/this-israeli-government-has-gone-too-far\/","title":{"rendered":"This Israeli Government Has Gone Too Far"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1><strong><br \/>\n<\/strong><\/h1>\n<h6>By SUAT  KINIKLIOGLU<\/h6>\n<p>o\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0  Published: June 2,  2010\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 ANKARA \u2014 I am the only  Turkish politician who has visited Israel since Israel unleashed  the Gaza War, and since the Davos incident between Israeli President Shimon  Peres and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan highlighted the  differences between our countries.  I have many  friends in Israel and I did not hesitate to visit Israel when an invitation was  extended to me by an Israeli think-tank. I maintained my optimism that Turkey  and Israel would be able to mend their differences despite their disagreements  over the humanitarian situation in Gaza .  However, Monday  was a turning point for me and my nation\u2019s 72 million citizens. On Monday Turkey was shocked to  watch Israeli commandos raiding a Turkish flotilla loaded with medical supplies,  toys and food bound for Gaza , killing at least nine peace activists in the process.   The raid in itself  was illegal as it occurred in international waters. The ships\u2019 600 activists  included Nobel Peace Prize  winner Mairead Corrigan-Maguire, German lawmakers, journalists,  businessmen, and an 86-year-old Holocaust survivor \u2014 hardly targets  who could pose a threat to Israel \u2019s well-trained commandos.   Accounts from  released activists clearly indicate that the Israeli commandos who stormed the  largest ship in the flotilla shot to kill and used electric stun guns.   These accounts  differ sharply from those coming from Israeli politicians and military. It is  therefore imperative that \u201ca prompt, impartial, credible and transparent  investigation conforming to international standards\u201d is held.   The United  Nations, Turkey and international public opinion demand to know what happened;  why and who is responsible for the death of nine peace activists.   The flotilla raid  has two dimensions. First, it has irrevocably damaged Turkish-Israeli relations  at the bilateral level. Turkey demands an independent investigation and an  apology and compensation for those killed by Israeli commandos.   Ankara also wants those  responsible for this crime to be punished. Anything short of these measures will  not cut it.  What the current  Israel government does not seem to get is that this action has crossed a  critical threshold in the Turks\u2019 perceptions vis-\u00e0-vis Israel , regardless of  political persuasion. After yesterday, Turks regard the current Israeli  government as unfriendly. There is no doubt that the rift has the potential to  escalate if Israel does not respond quickly and responsibly  Second, there is a  significant international dimension to the flotilla fiasco. The killing of nine  peace activists by Israel once again demonstrated the blatant disregard for  international norms and law by this Israeli government.  The response of  the international community \u2014 and more importantly, the U.S. response \u2014 to  Israel \u2019s disproportionate use of violence constitutes a test for U.S.  credibility in the Middle  East . Along with many European nations, the U.N. and global public  opinion, the U.S. has a moral responsibility to condemn Israel \u2019s violence.   Turkey is closely  monitoring the U.S. response. As Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu noted, this is  not a choice between Turkey and Israel . It is a choice between right and wrong,  between legal and illegal.  In many respects,  the Middle East is approaching an important crossroad. The United  States will determine what sort of Middle East it will be dealing with in the  future by its response to Israel \u2019s actions. This could not be more urgent given  the tension surrounding Iran \u2019s nuclear program, the precarious situation  in Iraq and the ongoing war in Afghanistan .  Furthermore, the  flotilla raid has once again highlighted that the blockade on Gaza is no longer  sustainable or justifiable.  Gaza today constitutes  an open-air prison. According to Amnesty International, 1.4 million  Palestinians are subject to a collective punishment whose aim  is to suffocate the Gaza  Strip.  Mass unemployment,  extreme poverty and food price rises caused by shortages have left four in five  Gazans dependent on humanitarian aid. That is why the Freedom Flotilla wanted to  deliver aid. It also wanted to make a point of the need to allow Gazans to trade  and interact with the rest of the world.  Turks have  welcomed the Jews escaping from the Inquisition in Spain in 1492. Our diplomats  have risked their lives to save European Jews from the Nazis. The Ottoman Empire  and Turkey have traditionally been hospitable to Jews for centuries.   But we can no  longer tolerate the brutal policies of the current Israeli government,  especially if they cost the lives of our citizens. The conscience of neither the  Turks, nor the international community, can any longer carry the burden of the  Netanyahu government\u2019s irresponsible policies. Both Israel and Turkey deserve  better.  <em>Suat  Kiniklioglu is a member of Turkish Parliament from the Justice and Development  (AK) Party and its deputy chairman of external affairs.<br \/>\nTribune Media  Services<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By SUAT KINIKLIOGLU o\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Published: June 2, 2010\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 ANKARA \u2014 I am the only Turkish politician who has visited Israel since Israel unleashed the Gaza War, and since the Davos incident between Israeli President Shimon Peres and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan highlighted the differences between our countries. I have many friends in [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":83,"featured_media":40468,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[89],"tags":[3044,593],"class_list":["post-19576","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-turkey","tag-mavi-marmara","tag-united-nations"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19576","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/83"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19576"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19576\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/40468"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19576"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19576"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19576"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}