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- FrontPage Magazine - http://frontpagemag.com - Kerry in Israel: Blind Alleys and Empty WordsPosted By P. David Hornik On April 10, 2013 @ 12:56 am In Daily Mailer,FrontPage | 42 Comments Secretary of State John Kerry was in Israel on Monday and Tuesday, after a stop in Turkey. Reports indicate the usual mix of Obama-administration delusions and dubious promises.The Jerusalem Post reported Israeli officials’ “astonishment” at statements Kerry made in Istanbul on Sunday, when he praised the Turkish government’s “sensitiv[ity]” and lack of “triumphalism” in responding to Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s “apology” over Israel’s Mavi Marmara raid.That apology was...

Secretary of State John Kerry on Sunday expressed sympathy for the families of nine Turkish activists killed during violent clashes with Israeli commandos who raided a ship trying to break the security blockade of the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip. Speaking in Istanbul, Kerry commented on a recent U.S.-mediated deal aimed at ending a diplomatic rift between Israel and Turkey, whose Islamist government is supportive of Hamas. The agreement entailed an Israeli apology for “any errors that could have led to loss of life” during the 2010 incident and a pledge to negotiate compensation. … Speaking alongside Kerry, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet...

Israel's Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu recently called Turkey's Prime Minister, Recep Tayipp Erdogan to apologize for the infamous Turkish flotilla incident that occurred back in May 2010. The reason that Mr. Netanyahu apologized? His naval commandos, after repeated physical assaults, decided to defend themselves. What began as Erdogan-instigated aggression against Israel's legitimate naval blockade against Gaza led the rather conservative Netanyahu to issue an odious apology to Erdogan in a desperate attempt to mend the deluded "Turkish-Israeli alliance" that ceased to exist years ago. Yet the apology may have only opened up a Pandora's Box for Israel, ominously endangering her...

A day after Israel apologized to Turkey over the Mavi Marmara incident, its Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced on Saturday that he will visit Gaza. “I may eventually visit Gaza and the West Bank in April. This visit would take place in the context of a general effort to contribute to the resolution process,” Erdogan told reporters, according to a report in the Turkish daily Hurriyet. Hamas’s Prime Minister in Gaza, Ismail Haniyeh, had already announced on Friday that Erdogan would visit Gaza in the near future, the report said. Hamas spokesman Taher al-Nunu had confirmed that "Recep Tayyip...

Israel and Turkey's recent rapprochement is a vital factor in developing peace and stability in the Middle East, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Saturday, AFP reported. "The reconciliation between Israel and Turkey is a very important development that will help advance the cause of peace and stability in the region," Kerry said in a statement Saturday from the Jordanian capital Amman. "Prime Minister Netanyahu and Prime Minister Erdogan deserve great credit for showing the leadership necessary to make this possible," he added, according to AFP. "We look forward to an expeditious implementation of the agreement and the...

Justice Minister Tzippy Livni on Sunday spoke with Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, discussing the possibility that Israel would pay reparations to the families of nine Turkish supporters of Hamas who were killed in 2010 aboard the Mavi Marmara, after they attempted to attack and murder IDF soldiers as part of the Gaza flotilla. Turkey's vice-premier, Bulenbt Arink, told Turkish media Sunday that a meeting and discussion in compensation had taken place, but gave no details. Turkish media reported Sunday that the families were due to receive “tens of millions of dollars” in compensation. Israel has named former director general...

Diplomatic failure in a fashion reminiscent of Genghis Khan Obama’s only diplomatic achievement in the Middle East has been to make Bibi Netanyahu bow down apologize to the anti-Israeli Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, as reported here yesterday, How do you say “Apologize For What?!” in Hebrew?Knowing the insane anti-Israeli venom we have seen from Erdogan in the past, it was obvious that he would not be appeased.And indeed, within a day Erdogan has announced that the apology both was a victory for him and not enough to restore relations between Turkey and Israel.  It also was viewed as a...

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...

Israel issued a formal apology to Turkey and agreed to pay compensation over the Mavi Marmara killings of 2010 on March 22 after a phone conversation between the two countriesÂ’ premiers, Benjamin Netanyahu and Recep Tayyip ErdoÄŸan, that was brokered by U.S. President Barack Obama. Turkey accepted IsraelÂ’s apology, sources from the Prime Ministry confirmed, underlining that Israel had also agreed to ease its blockade on Gaza.

MK Hanin Zoabi (Balad), who was on the Mavi Marmara when IHH terrorists attacked IDF soldiers who boarded the ship, said Friday that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s apology to Turkey over the Marmara incident is “not enough”. Earlier, Netanyahu spoke on the phone with his Turkish counterpart and apologized for the deaths of nine Turks in a 2010 raid on the Gaza-bound flotilla. The two agreed to normalize the relations between the two countries. In response, MK Zoabi said, “We’re talking about human life and about the killing of nine political activists.” She called for the establishment of an international...

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a phone call arranged with help from President Obama, apologized to Turkey Friday for the deaths of its citizens during a 2010 Gaza flotilla raid -- in a move to restore ruptured ties between the two nations. Netanyahu acknowledged "operational mistakes" in the raid, according to one official, and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan accepted the apology. The phone call, which Obama also joined, was described as a "first