Posted on 03/23/2013 9:04:40 AM PDT by Former Fetus
Former foreign minister Avigdor Liberman slammed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday for his decision to apologize to his Turkish counterpart for the “operational errors” made by Israel during the 2010 raid that led to Turkish fatalities on the Turkish-registered, Gaza-bound ship Mavi Marmara.
“Israel’s apology for the soldiers activity against a terrorist organization is a serious mistake,” said Liberman, who served as Israel’s top diplomat during the height of the crisis with Turkey, and who is also Netanyahu’s No. 2 in their joint Knesset Likud-Beytenu faction.
“Anyone who watched the photos taken on the ship Mavi Marmara understands beyond any doubt that the IDF soldiers acted in self-defense against the activists of the IHH organization, recognized in European countries, including Germany and the Netherlands, as a terrorist organization,” stated Liberman.
(Excerpt) Read more at timesofisrael.com ...
Justice Minister Tzipi Livni, on the other hand, welcomed the attempt at mending ties. This is absolute proof of what a mistake Bibi has made!
Next time, try a torpedo.
Hussein probably told Bibi an apology was necessary in order to get Turkish cooperation for an Iranian strike which hussein has zero intention of ever seeing happen.
It’s a mistake. Obviously the current occupant of the oval office pressured Netanyahu to do it. Bowing down before angry terrorists is never a good idea.
If Bibi thinks he is clever and hopes to get on The Messiah's good side by doing this, he is sadly mistaken. Bibi will find that the The Messiah has no "good" side. He is just all evil.
Yes. I also wonder what kind of pressure Obama placed on Netanyahu to make him ignore Obama’s rude behavior while in Israel. Community organizer ginning up another riot is not what Israel needs. Obama does not seem to be a “friend” of Israel; not at all. Bibi pretending all is well does not make it so.
IMO this was hardly a last-minute phone call prompted by POTUS Barry. The US, Israel and Turkey all have to pull together for the impending Iran/Syria/Hezbollah showdown during which Turkish airspace and backup airfields and special forces basing could be crucial.
The language of the apology was crafted by lawyers on all sides in a way to permit Bibi to evade apologizing for the ship boarding, but rather only to apologize for “operational” mistakes in executing the boarding, something that an Israeli investigation had already determined! The Israelis walked into a murderous ambush with insufficient forces. More Israeli spec-ops boarders with better non-lethal suppressive munitions and better intelligence could have reduced Turkish Islamist casualties. Too bad about that, Turks.
Of course has been the Turks all along who should have been beaten down by the US and forced to apologize for facilitating in every way the Islamist terrorist’s to attempt to smuggle contraband into Hamastan under the false flag of a humanitarian vessel. It is yet another stain on POTUS Barry’s ongoing usurpation that he did bully this NATO ally into preventing the ship from sailing in the first place and then apologize himself for not doing that and exposing the Israelis to worldwide vicious propaganda.
So in return for nothing the Turks agreed to drop “war crimes” charges against Israel as a nation and against its troops individually.
Former foreign minister Avigdor Liberman
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