Saturday, June 5, 2010

Turkish PM Erdogan Considers Visiting Gaza Himself

Picture courtesy> http://www.tehrantimes.com


Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is considering going to Gaza strip himself in order to break the siege, al-Mustaqbal newspaper quoted "knowledgeable sources" as saying.

The newspaper said that "as part of the open conflict between Turkey and Israel following the massacre against the 'freedom sail' to Gaza and the protest sparked in the world, Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan is considering going to Gaza himself in order to break the blockade imposed on the Strip."
The sources noted that the Turkish leader had raised the option in a conversation with his associates.

According to the report, Erdogan notified the American administration he was planning to ask his navy to escort another aid flotilla, but that American officials asked him to delay the plan in order to look into the matter.

The newspaper reported that the Erdogan government was under a lot of pressure from "political and popular groups" to annul all military agreements with Israel, but that the military establishment was strongly opposed to this demand.

The Turkish prime minister harshly criticized Israel over its deadly attack against Freedom flotilla on Monday which left nine Turkish men martyred and around 60 wounded with tens have been detained and then released.

Turkey's ambassador to Washington warned Friday that his country could be forced by its people to break relations with Israel.

Earlier on Friday, Erdogan renwed criticism to the Zionist entity , describing the Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas fighters as " resistance fighters who are struggling to defend their land. They have won an election."

Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc said on Friday that his country was "assessing deals with Israel" in order to reduce its relations with Israel to "a minimum" in the wake of Monday's raid.

On Thursday, the Turkish President Abdullah Gul said that the Israeli massacre against "Freedom" flotilla can "not be forgotten," and ties between Turkey and Israel "will never be the same."
"This incident has left an irreparable and deep scar" on relations, Gul added.

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