Israel & Turkey in disagreement over compensation of Marmara victims

March 28, 2013 by occupiedpalestine 0 Comments

Al Qassam Website | March 28, 2013
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Al Qassam website – A Hebrew newspaper revealed that the Israeli authorities and Turkey are in disagreement over the compensation the Jewish state is to pay to the families of the Turkish victims who were killed during the Israeli attack on the Gaza-bound ship Marmara in May 2010.Yediot Aharonot newspaper said on Wednesday that the wide gaps that separate the two sides were obvious through the negotiations over the amount of compensation and mechanisms of delivering it to the victims’ families.

“Israel agreed to pay $100,000 to each family, while the Turks are demanding $1 million for each of the families of those killed during the commando raid on the Mavi Marmara”, the paper reported.

The occupation authorities also want that Ankara does not transfer the money directly to the families. According to the Hebrew newspaper “the money is to be transferred to a humanitarian fund headed by the Turkish government, which will distribute it.”

The Israeli Justice Minister Tzipi Livni has discussed on Tuesday the compensation issue with Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, and the countries agreed to set up a joint committee to deal with the issue.

A statement by the Turkish Prime Minister stressed that Israeli apology “came according to the Turkish conditions”, first and foremost formally apologize to the Turkish people, then compensate the families of the victims, lift the ban on the West Bank and Gaza and allow entry of civilian goods.

According to Erdogan, Turkey insisted on these major conditions for the improvement of relations with Israel.