Turkey: Israeli troops committed crime
Turkish foreign minister says Ankara will keep pushing for international probe of lethal raid on Gaza-bound ship; Ahmet Davutoglu welcomes Israeli report on incident that acknowledged mistakes were made
Turkey's foreign minister says his country will keep pushing for an international inquiry into Israel's deadly raid on a Gaza-bound ship carrying aid.
The comments come a day after an IDF inquiry into the lethal raid concluded that flawed intelligence-gathering and planning led to the ill-fated operation.
Ahmet Davutoglu told reporters Wednesday that he welcomed the fact that the report acknowledged that "mistakes" were made.
But he said the Israeli commandos had committed "a crime" and said Turkey wants an international probe.
Ties between Turkey and Israel - former allies - reached a new low following the May 31 raid that killed eight Turks and one Turkish-American.
Israel says its commandos acted in self-defense. It has resisted calls for a UN-led inquiry into the raid.
Earlier, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Davutoglu discussed Turkey's strained relations with Israel in the aftermath of the IDF's lethal raid.
State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said after their conversation that "the secretary encouraged the foreign minister to continue important dialogue with Israel because that relationship remains a vitally important one to the future of the region."
Yitzhak Benhorin contributed to the story
