Turkey refuses to help Israel block flotilla 2 from reaching Gaza

Israel asked Turkey last week to stop the flotilla from heading to Gaza. Quite why they thought the Turkish state rush to their assistance on this one after seeing eight Turkish citizens gunned down by Israel (one was Furkan Dogan, a 19-year-old Turkish-American citizen, although the US was notably unconcerned by the death).

Israel mustn't attempt to stop a planned aid flotilla bound for the blockaded Gaza Strip, Turkey's Foreign Minister told in an interview on Monday, adding that Turkey could do nothing to stop organizers from launching the flotilla.

Turkey said on Thursday it had received a request from Israel to help stop activists sailing to Gaza on the first anniversary of an Israeli raid on a Turkish ship, but it said the flotilla plan was not Ankara's concern...

...Speaking to the Sydney Morning Herald on Monday, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu urged Israel not to "repeat the same mistake," adding that it was "Israel's responsibility not to implement [a blockade] against Gaza."

"A fact-finding mission of the UN declared that [the blockade] is illegal," Davutoglu said, adding that in last year's flotilla people were killed 72 miles [116 kilometers] from the coast, so this was in international waters. The Mediterranean does not belong to any nation." more

Roll of the dead from the Mavi Marmara assault:

Ibrahim Bilgen
Ali HaydarBengi
Cevdet Kiliçlar
Çetin Topçuoglu
Necdet Yildirim
Fahri Yaldiz
Cengiz Songür
Cengiz Akyüz
Furkan Dogan

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