Israel

Gaza Strip Blockade vs Turkey

Israel’s Gaza Strip naval blockade was ruled legal by the United Nations. The UN’s inquiry about the killings of nine pro-Palestinian activists by Israeli forces after ships from Turkey attempted to enter Gaza last year, was also ruled in favor of Israel. The UN reported that, while the attack may have been “excessive”, it was not in violation of international law and was therefore a result of culpability on both the Israeli side as well as the side of the Gaza Freedom Flotilla activists. The UN Report also stressed the need for Turkey and Israel to resume diplomatic ties to work towards a stable environment in the Middle East

The UN’s stance on the Israeli blockade seems to only further infuriate Turkey. Turkey is now attempting to take the dispute to the ICG, after Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu’s claim that the UN Report was not binding, and that the ICG should handle all state-to-state problems. While the UN Report urged Israel to apologize for its actions and provide monetary relief to the families of the victims in the attack, Israel’s foreign minister, Danny Ayalon, maintained that Israel was sound in its actions. He believes that they were within their jurisdiction and that, rather than move on from the incident, Turkey is using it as a ploy for its own political gains. The actions and statements from both sides sustain the long-lasting feud between Muslim states and Israel for holy land. Although Israel maintains that its purpose for the blockade is to keep weapons-trade from entering Gaza by sea, Turkey and other Muslim states uphold that the blockade is wrong and unlawful and that the killings of the men on the Mavi Marmara were unwarranted. Forensic evidence provided by the UN has shown that many of the men in the attack had been shot many times and at close range. This new information from both sides and the UN seems to suggest that tensions between Israel and Turkey will not be defusing any time soon. All call for compromise and justice but neither Israel nor Turkey is ready or willing to accept responsibility.

Liberal

http://www.tehrantimes.com/index.php/-columnists-/80-guljammas/2150-un-allows-israel-to-get-away-with-murder-

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-14777558

September 13, 2011 at 10:54 pm