<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="yes"?><oembed><version><![CDATA[1.0]]></version><provider_name><![CDATA[Occupied Palestine | فلسطين]]></provider_name><provider_url><![CDATA[https://occupiedpalestine.wordpress.com]]></provider_url><author_name><![CDATA[occupiedpalestine]]></author_name><author_url><![CDATA[https://occupiedpalestine.wordpress.com/author/hajarhajar/]]></author_url><title><![CDATA[Erdogan: No normalization without Israel&#8217;s apology, lift of Gaza&nbsp;siege]]></title><type><![CDATA[link]]></type><html><![CDATA[<p>[ 24/07/2011 &#8211; 08:10 AM ]</p>
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<p>ISTANBUL, (PIC)&#8211; Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Saturday that his country&#8217;s normalization of relations with Israel is &#8221;unthinkable&#8221; unless Israel apologizes over the 2010 flotilla attack and ends its siege on the Gaza Strip.</p>
<p>&#8221;As long as Israel does not apologize to Turkey, pay compensation to the families of the victims, and lift its siege on Gaza, it is unthinkable to normalize relations with it,&#8221; Erdogan said during a meeting for Palestinian ambassadors in Istanbul.</p>
<p>Erdogan accused Israel of &#8221;shooting in the back&#8221; the nine unarmed Turkish activists who were on board the Mavi Marmara ship, which was a part of the Freedom Flotilla in late May 2010, when it tried to defy Israel&#8217;s blockade of the Gaza Strip.</p>
<p>The PM also criticized Israel for refusing to &#8221;move ahead to end the conflict and lift the Gaza siege&#8221;.</p>
<p>On Thursday, Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Moshe Yaalon insisted that Israel was unwilling to apologize over the incident.</p>
<p>&#8221;We are not ready to apologize, as apologizing is taking responsibility,&#8221; he told media outlets in Jerusalem, adding that Israel would also not pay compensation to the victims&#8217; families.</p>
<p>Turkey has recalled its ambassador from Israel, confirming that bilateral relations between “the countries would never be the same again&#8221;.</p>
<p>The United Nations is due to release in the near future a report by an investigation committee on Israel&#8217;s 2010 flotilla attack that caused once solid Israeli-Turkish relations to spiral.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7sk%2fSBGouGhUQG6r1%2fJDtsH65QpUQ7o8qS2Pn5F7%2f4YNmuX37CpUCoO7NeDkJGLRWU2thZ61k5gGaHRcKAg1wqForkQsr9RLrt%2bu%2f6lSmP90%3d">Source</a></p>
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