Deputy Chairman in charge of Foreign Relations of the ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party Omer Celik said Friday Turkey was disappointed with some NATO allies' support for an Israeli committee that will study the Israeli attack on ships carrying aid material to Gaza on May 31, Anadolu Agency reported.
Speaking at a conference of a U.S. think tank organization on Turkey, Celik said that the deterioration in Turkish-Israeli relations began with Israel's military operation in Gaza.
Israel's attack on aid ships is one of the most tragic incidents in Turkish history. During the long years of the Cold War, we were face to face with the Soviet Union but they did not attempt to kill Turkish citizens. On the other hand, Israel, a country with which we cooperated for years, attacked our ship and executed nine Turks, Celik said.
We expect Israel to apologize from Turkey and contribute to the establishment of an independent international committee under the auspices of the U.N. Secretary General, Celik said.
If Israel does not respond to our demands, relations will only get worse, Celik also said.