 Recent remarks made by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan condemning Israel for a blockade it imposed on the Gaza Strip have led to uneasiness on part of the Israeli government, diplomatic sources said on Thursday.
Israel, which occupied the Gaza Strip in 1967, pulled troops and settlers out in 2005 but still controls its northern and eastern borders, airspace and coastal waters and has imposed a blockade it says is meant to counter militant rocket fire.
Israel Foreign Ministry officials issued a protest on Wednesday to Turkish Ambassador to Israel Namık Tan and requested clarification of Erdoğans remarks, Israeli daily Haaretz reported on Thursday.
Israel is very disappointed by Erdoğans statements, in light of the friendly relations between the two countries. ... Israel expects a different response from a state that itself is fighting terror, a senior Foreign Ministry official was quoted by Haaretz as telling Tan, while conveying the official protest.
Turkish diplomatic sources, speaking with Todays Zaman on condition of anonymity, denied that there was a protest handed to Tan. However they confirmed that Israels uneasiness was conveyed to Tan personally in line with diplomatic procedure.
The particular reason behind Israels uneasiness is Erdoğans remarks criticizing Israeli officials for remarks linking the blockade to rocket attacks.
Addressing members of his ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) at a weekly meeting in Parliament on Tuesday, Erdoğan said Israeli officials failed to explain how many Israelis died in these attacks.
It is not possible to accept such acts that punish 2 million people. It is not understandable to collectively punish a community because some of them are doing wrong things, he said then. As of Thursday, the UN Human Rights Council said it deplored the grave violations being committed by Israel in Gaza and demanded that the week-long siege of the strip be lifted.
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