Turkey: Tel Aviv protest a 'provocation'
Israeli ambassador summoned by Foreign Ministry in Ankara over ' incomprehensible and unacceptable' rally outside Turkish Embassy
Ambassador Levy was summoned to the Foreign Ministry in the Turkish capital, where he was told that the rally was "an incomprehensible and unacceptable provocation," as the activists who died in the Israeli Navy raid on a Gaza-bound flotilla were Turkish citizens.
The Turks complained that a firecracker thrown during the Tel Aviv protest had disrupted the embassy's work. Ambassador Levy noted that three people were arrested during the rally.
Officials at the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem suspect that Ankara's protest is aimed at heating up the diplomatic arena. They noted that Turkish representatives had asked to condemn Israel over the deadly raid during an International Maritime Organization meeting in London, which was attended by 40 countries, although the organization deals with technical and professional issues.
The conference discussed the Turkish request, which was supported by Egypt, China, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, South Africa, Bangladesh and of course Turkey. Most of the participating countries opposed the idea, including Brazil, which condemned the Israeli operation but said that such a discussion should be held by the United Nations and not by a professional organization.
The United States, Britain, Holland, Sweden, Spain, Germany, Denmark, Russia, Italy and Norway were opposed to the request as well, and it was eventually rejected.
A Turkish Foreign Ministry official said Tuesday that a declaration to be issued at the end of a regional summit in Istanbul omits any reference to Israel's raid on the aid ship bound for Gaza and the killing of nine Turkish activists,.
Turkey had sought the inclusion of strong words against Israel's actions, and had the support of many members of CICA's 20 members, the official said. But that was always unlikely, as Israel is a fellow member of the Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) and any declaration by the group requires a consensus.
The declaration said all parties in the Middle East peace process should abide by UN rules. It also stressed the importance of the two-state solution. It emphasized the importance of non-proliferation of nuclear weapons.
'Sail participants banned from Israel'
Interior Minister Eli Yishai said Tuesday that all the pro-Palestinian activists expelled from Israel last week would never be able to return to the country.The minister's response was sent to the Legal Forum for the Land of Israel, which asked to ban the hundreds of activists who tried to reach the Gaza Strip from entering the country for good.
The Jordanian Embassy in Israel on Tuesday received the passports of some of the flotilla's passengers, including Jordanian citizens, the official Petra news agency reported.
According to Jordanian Minister for Media Affairs and Communications Nabil al-Sharif, the embassy received the passports of seven Jordanians, as well as Omani, Pakistani, Indonesian, Kuwaiti, Bahraini, Moroccan and Algerian passports.
He said the passports would be returned to their owners and that the Jordanian Foreign Minister was following up on Israel's confiscation of the rest of the Jordanian passports which had yet to be returned.
Aviad Glickman, Roee Nahmias and Reuters contributed to this report
