First off to Emre, thank you for your kind words. The jews will never forget what the Turks have done throughout history for them. The government of israel has said numerous times that they regret the loss of lives on the marmara but the turkish government kept.pushing the israeli government for a public apology without even acknowledging that they made a mistake in backing the IHH. And the israeli government probably would have apologized if they felt it was a sincere request but it was more to make israel look weak and erdogan tougher. And israel wasnt going to appease them. And still i believe that israel does not neccasarily have to apologize, a regret is more on par. Especially since the commandos only boarded with paintball guns but erdogan made sure the turkish media embellish what really happened, especially by sending and airing.only parts of the video. And to Sarah b, u r on point as usual, its true israel has the best search and resue teams in the world, and best equipment, they could have saved lots of lives. Keep posting Sarah, i always look forward to your talkbacks the most, by far the most intuitive, knowledgable, and articulate. We need to keep spreading the truths about israel especially against people that just spew lies and hatred. The truth is always harder than lies since anything can be said in lies

For those who take so much pride in our IDF SAR (Search and Rescue) teams helping throughout the world, take note. The IDF SAR teams are not INSARAG (UN SAR standards) certified, which means that when an OCHA UNDAC (UN Disaster Assessment and Coordination) officer takes control of coordination at a disaster, the IDF teams do not appear on their list of available resources. This can cause a delay of 24 hours, while governments coordinate. While the IDF teams are very well respected, their equipment and administration procedures are not standard. If IDF was to get INSARAG certification, we would see a quicker request time (directly from site coordinator), since governments channels are bypassed. There is a 2 year waiting list for INSARAG certification at the moment, and there is no pending request from the IDF. Pity

Put aside the nonsense and true friendship reveals itself. This is simply awesome!

you surprised me i wasnt expecting a humanitarian approach from you while i know many of you are good people with high pride i really think turkey asking help from israel is wrong its not friendly country plus any help can be obtained from other states i dont trust israel and this offer seems pr more than a sincere help so again sarah u surprised me mam :)

I have Israeli Jewish children living below the poverty line renting apartments that are not even suitable for their needs because they can't afford anything better, and our dear government just sends over free housing for non-Jews! It doesn't make sense! Let the arabs come to the aid of their OWN brethern, and let our country and Jews around the world help out our own poor Jews who desparately need help!

that you support the help. So you have proven that you are against dirty politics not Turks. I really appreciate your behavior and would like to see you always constructive like this :)... At the end politics is politics everywhere. The most important thing is that we are human beings and we need eachother. I hope one day all the radicals of somethings can understand this. We all love our nations but people needs to purify themselves from any radicalism, strong nationalism and anything that can harm the humanity. And these kind of disasters are the excuses to come together again and think about our best value : Humanity !

And of the over fifty nations that offered Turkey help, how many can deliver the quality of Israeli help as quickly as Israel can deliver it? Stop being so self-righteous. Having waited 48 hours to reach out has cost lives. That is something the Turkish people may wish to address with the Turkish government. It's very reminiscent of the former Soviet Union waiting so long to reach out after the disaster at Chernobyl.

This is not a political matter, it is humanitarian matter. PM Erdogan sits in his warm home in Istanbul or the PM mansion in Ankara (does he ever stay in Ankara?) and takes one day visits to the east in the comfort of a Private jet. While he is buying small ships (gemicik) to his son and a - gazetecik - media outlet to his son in law the warehouses of Kizilay (red Crescent) do not have enough tents to respond to an emergency in Van. What would happen if this was around Istanbul like it happened 10 years ago? Israelis are not far away asnd will always be there at your darkest days (Israel is your Kara Gun Dostu) Selam dostlar.

Contrary to what Palestinian and Arab/Islamo Fascists propagandists say...Israel is in the world to do good. Israel is the last country in the world that wants war....look how much we sacrificed for Gilad Shalit...one precious soul in return for thousands of parasites! We are humanitarian by nature...and honest Palestinians would tell you the same thing.

Turkey has now asked Israel for help. Interesting, huh dope?

Very nice to help our frenemy turkey, in the end will be the turkey when erdie goes back to his minatory belligerence towards war with us.

It seems that INSARAG does not expect any disasters for the next 2 years hence the long waiting list. Both Erdogan and INSARAG are quite casual about disasters. Seems like they want to pick and choose who will be approached for assistance, what with Erdogan picking Pakistan and Azerbaijan according to Sarah B. I mean, how much more idiotic can this get!

Dear David i know president Erdogan he is not an evil as many people of Israeli thinks. Many people likes him including me, but it doesn't mean that i do not like Israelis. I have many friends there in Tel Aviv,Ashdod,Rehavot etc..Erdoğan was in Van right after 2-3 hours the disaster. The Main problem is we have tens of thousands of tents but they are not enough. Ask me why ? Because maybe a million people don't want to get in their houses. They are afraid of getting into even their strong houses again. And they are right by the way.They need to be sure to get in again. I know that many Israelis hates Erdogan but not the Turks. We are in the same direction, many of us hates Lieberman (not Netanyahu) but likes jews. All of our jew friends live happy and secure in Turkey. Thanks again for being Kara gün dostu. Regards.

Apologize for what? The Israeli commandos had every right to defend themselves to the max against the nine terrorists.

Symbolic aid?

nice to see nations working together for humanity. My condolences to the Turkish people

Keep up the good work!! You're nearly a fully fledged moron! LOL!!!

Israel was inside there in no time at all, digging out people from the rubble and rescuing them from impossible situations. Their field hospital was up and running in the blink of an eye. Days after, other nations started arriving. Aircraft arrived but the places that needed the help were inaccessible because of the lack of infrastructure like proper roads. While all that was going on, Israel along with just a few other countries was saving lives and tending to the injured. The mainstream press grudgingly gave credit to Israel for its role. Israel was in and out with the greatest dispatch and efficiency. I didn't see Israel looking for PR.

Erdogan 's sickness with Israel bashing costs already many deaths ! As he told to Peres : You know how to kill ! the whole world will say to him you are that creature who kills his own people ! SHAME ON ERDOGAN KILLER OF HIS OWN PEOPLE EXACTLY LIKE BASHAR ASSAD !!!

When someone helps, they don't even mention it because a decent helps comes from the heart with sincerity. It is rude and ridiculous for someone to offer help and then praise himself loudly for helping. This is what Israel is doing, and it is not appreciated.

Great PR opportunity for Israel. Perhaps some naive Turks will thank and even believe in Israel's friendship now. But all those anti-Turkish comments are still on display on this website. Turks, even the critics of Erdogan like me, do not trust Israel anymore. Israel openly supports PKK terror against Turks and openly supports all anti-Turkish attacks.

...here in Australia...a foreign government sent...activists..whatever...and stopped our military forces with iron bars and whatever else - would be EXACTLY the same result. Our guys would have done the same as the IDF. All BS about "international waters"...doesnt matter - its the INTENT which was clear. Anyway, lets hope the aid is not too late - ridiculous to have refused in the first place.

Because of bad organisation all the food and housing material is plundered in order to sell to needy people !( This morning the Turkish Newspapers ) THIS IS ERDOGAN"S INCOMPETANT GOVERNMENT !!!

Israel NEVER helps PKK which is on International TERRORIST LIST ! BUT ERDOGAN openly flirts with HAMAS WHICH IS ON THE TERRORIST LIST!

The earthquake is a golden opportunity for turkish people to realize that neighbouring nations are not hostile toward them.They should have accept the offered help from the first hour, so that many lives would have been saved. I am sure that in case Erdogan's daughter was under the ruins, the authorisation would have been given immediately.However better late than never.I am sure the turkish people will appreciate the help, and let politics aside.When you are at the edge of the cliff, you dont have the luxury to pick, but to use all offered help in case you want to survive.I wish the best for the turkish people who suffers so much, and thank Israel for her precious help.

Dear Turk merhaba.I am sure that in case it was you trapped under the ruins in Van, you would hope for the moment of Israeli saving teams to arrive and recover your weak and frost body.However when you have the luxury to comment from your warm and comfortable armchair, things seem different as the pain is somewhere else's.Unfortunately this is the human nature.Iyi axamlar.

Israel needs to beg more to help them.