Israeli media say the Foreign Ministry has ordered the families of its diplomats in Turkey to leave that country because of the uproar over Israel’s deadly naval raid on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla.
State-run Israel radio and other stations and newspapers say the diplomatic mission itself will remain in Turkey. At least four Turkish activists were among the nine killed by Israeli naval commandos in the raid Sunday on an international flotilla bringing aid to Gaza. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused Israel of a “bloody massacre” and thousands of Turks have protested across the country.
Meanwhile, Israel and Egypt signalled a temporary easing of the Gaza Strip blockade following harsh international condemnation of the deadly Israeli raid on an aid flotilla en route to the sealed-off Palestinian territory.
Israeli media say the Foreign Ministry has ordered the families of its diplomats in Turkey to leave that country because of the uproar over Israel’s deadly naval raid on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla. State-run Israel radio and other stations and newspapers say the diplomatic mission itself will remain in Turkey.
At least four Turkish activists were among the nine killed by Israeli naval commandos in the raid Sunday on an international flotilla bringing aid to Gaza. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused Israel of a “bloody massacre” and thousands of Turks have protested across the country.
Meanwhile, Israel and Egypt signalled a temporary easing of the Gaza Strip blockade following harsh international condemnation of the deadly Israeli raid on an aid flotilla en route to the sealed-off Palestinian territory.
Egypt said it was freely opening its border with Gaza for the first time in more than a year to allow in humanitarian aid, setting off a mad rush to the crossing by thousands of residents, while an Israeli official said there is an “ongoing dialogue” with the international community on how to expand the amount of goods entering the area.
At the same time, Israel began expelling some of the nearly 700 activists it rounded up in the naval raid, and strongly rejected criticism that its tactics were heavy-handed.
A total of 124 activists – 30 of whom were said to be Jordanians – crossed the Jordan River aboard five buses after being deported. Jordan is one of two Arab nations with a signed peace treaty with Israel.
The government said it would deport almost all of them within the next two days, but about 50 would be held for investigation into their part in the violence at sea. Organisers say another ship has since set sail for Gaza. Greta Berlin of the Free Gaza Movement told the BBC the MV Rachel Corrie would “be there within the week”.
Five of those on board are Irish, including Nobel Peace Prize laureate Mairead Maguire, prompting Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen to appeal for its safe arrival in Gaza. Berlin said they would be joined by other human rights activists and journalists before embarking on the journey, the Irish Times reported.
“Israel can haul the Rachel Corrie into Ashdod as it did the other boats or show goodwill to the world by allowing her to proceed to Gaza,” she said
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