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U.S. Army Captain Michael Kelvington, commander of the Battle company, 1-508 Parachute Infantry battalion, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, bows next to remains of Gulam Dostager, a member of Afghan Local Police who was killed in the blast of an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) during the joint Tor Janda (Black Flag in Pashtu) operation, in Zahri district of Kandahar province, southern Afghanistan May 25, 2012. REUTERS/Shamil Zhumatov (AFGHANISTAN - Tags: MILITARY CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)

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U.S. Army Captain Michael Kelvington, commander of the Battle company, 1-508 Parachute Infantry battalion, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, bows next to remains of Gulam Dostager, a member of Afghan Local Police who was killed in the blast of an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) during the joint Tor Janda (Black Flag in Pashtu) operation, in Zahri district of Kandahar province, southern Afghanistan May 25, 2012. REUTERS/Shamil Zhumatov (AFGHANISTAN - Tags: MILITARY CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)

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Members of the U.S. Navy Blue Angels fly over the World Trade Center in lower Manhattan as part of the 25th annual Fleet Week celebration in New York, May 23, 2012. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz (UNITED STATES - Tags: MILITARY ANNIVERSARY TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)

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Israel solely responsible for convoy deaths: Turkey

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ISTANBUL | Tue Aug 10, 2010 8:32am EDT

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Israel should admit sole responsibility for the killing of nine activists during a raid on a Gaza aid flotilla, Turkey's Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Tuesday.

A U.N. inquiry into the Israeli commando raid on the aid convoy on May 31 was due to meet for the first time later in the day. The killing of the activists, all Turks, although one was a U.S. citizen, almost caused a breakdown in relations between the Jewish state and its once close ally.

"No one else can take the blame for killing civilians in international waters," Davutoglu told journalists.

"Israel has killed civilians, and should take the responsibility for having done so."

The Turkish minister appeared to be responding to comments by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Monday to a separate Israeli inquiry into the fatal raid.

Netanyahu said Turkey had ignored repeated warnings and appeals "at the highest level" to halt the flotilla, which was organized by an Islamic charity based in Turkey.

"Turkey has no responsibility in the attack on the Mavi Marmara flotilla," Davutoglu said.

Tuesday, Defense Minister Ehud Barak told the Israeli panel that Israel had exhausted all other options before carrying out the raid.

Turkey withdrew its ambassador after the raid and called off joint military exercises, but stopped short of breaking diplomatic ties completely. It wants Israel to apologize and offer compensation to the victims' families.

Israel says its commandos opened fire after activists attacked a boarding party with clubs and knives.

Relations between Turkey and Israel began deteriorating after Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan condemned an Israeli offensive in Gaza in December, 2008, and criticized an Israeli blockade of the Palestinian enclave.

Israel said the blockade was necessary to stop arms reaching the Islamist Hamas group running Gaza. After an international outcry over the raid on the aid convoy, Israel relaxed the embargo.

(Reporting by Tulay Karadeniz; Writing by Simon Cameron-Moore; editing by Andrew Dobbie)
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Comments (2)
gunste wrote:
Israel is solely responsible for the death on board of the Turkish ship that tried to land on a shore without authorization?
WRONG: Turkey is at fault for allowing the ship to sail, for encouraging its citizens to place themselves in a precarious situation.
What would Turkey do if an Israeli ship tried to land on its shores to supply the Kurds??

Aug 10, 2010 5:38pm EDT  --  Report as abuse
Banned wrote:
gunste, very well stated. Someday the world will rouse from her spellbind state and realize how infected she is with this untenable hypocrite and parasitic state.

Aug 11, 2010 10:37am EDT  --  Report as abuse
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