Israel set to release Turkish aid ships

“We expect the process of the ships' return to be completed after technical preparations are finished within several days,” Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu said during a visit to Vietnam, Anatolia news agency reported Friday.

Diplomatic sources in Ankara, however, said they were waiting for the announcement of the official decision from Israeli authorities in order to be able to send two tugboats to Israel.

Following a deadly raid by commandos on a flotilla carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza that left nine civilians dead, three ships with Turkish flags, the Mavi Marmara, Defne and Gazze, were forced to anchor in Haifa by the Israeli military.

The country’s armed forces chose to hold the ships until it had completed its own inquiry about the incident. Turkey and Israel have been negotiating on the technical procedure involved in releasing the ships.

“We are waiting for an official declaration by Israel to send the tugboats. There will be just technical crew on the towing boats,” a Turkish diplomatic source told the Hürriyet Daily News and Economic Review.

In the past, Israel has sought formal assurances from ship-owners that boats that arrived in similar circumstances would not return to the area with the same goal of breaking the Gaza blockade.

Although the same procedures were requested in Turkey’s case as well, Israel has decided not to negotiate with the Foundation for Humanitarian Relief, or İHH, the owner of the ships, which Israel deems “a terrorist organization.”

“There is no precondition for releasing the ships either from Israel or from the Turkish side,” Turkish diplomatic sources told Daily News.

The decision to release the boats came just a day after Israel lifted an advisory warning its citizens against travel to Turkey, a move that was perceived as a goodwill message. Meanwhile, an Israeli women’s volleyball team will travel to Ankara for games in the European Women’s Volleyball League as well.

Turkey, Israel's closest Muslim ally in the region, recalled its ambassador and suspended joint military exercises after the May 31 raid. Ankara has demanded an apology and compensation for the victims, as well as an international investigation.

Israel has resisted Turkish demands for a wider international investigation and a formal apology, insisting on its own inquiry into the incident. The country admitted errors in planning the high-seas seizure but justified the lethal force of its marines, saying they came under club, knife and gun attacks after rappelling down from helicopters.


/Hurriyet Daily News/