Barak: We must apologize for flotilla errors
Yitzhak Benhorin, YNET
WASHINGTON – Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Friday, following meetings with US administration officials, that Israel must reach a compromise with Turkey – even if this meant the Jewish state would have to apologize for the deadly raid on a Gaza-bound flotilla last year.
“I’m not talking about an apology for the blockade or an apology for the flotilla, but about saying that if any errors were made during the operation – we regret them,” he explained.
“I don’t like it,” the defense minister admitted in a press briefing, “but it’s not a bad thing to have reasonable relations with Turkey in a region which has instability in Egypt, downsizing in Saudi Arabia and a hostile Iran.”
According to Barak, senior legal experts in the Foreign Ministry and Defense Ministry believe Israel must reach an understanding with Turkey if it wishes to defend its soldiers.
Barak met Thursday with US Vice President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta and National Security Advisor Tom Donilon.
This series of meetings reinforced the defense minister’s view that the conflict with Ankara must be resolved. Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, on the other hand, is strongly opposed to any apology on Israel’s part.
On Friday, Barak is expected to meet with United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to discuss the Palmer Report probing the flotilla raid.
“On the one hand, the report includes very important conclusions for Israel, which put Turkey in the corner in terms of the justification for the blockade, the justification for stopping the flotilla and the justification for using force,” Barak said.
“On the other hand,” he added, “there is a problematic element dealing with what happened during the operation. We don’t agree with some of things, but we must make a choice between a problematic report and reaching an understanding with Turkey, so that the things that bother us are clarified and there are no lawsuits across the world on the part of Turkey and Turks against Israel and against officers and commanders.”
Preparing for September
Barak and the Obama administration officials also discussed Israeli-Palestinian conflict. According to the defense minister, if Israel reached an understanding with the European Union and the United States on a formula, the Europeans and Americans would try to dissuade the Palestinians from asking the UN to recognize an independent Palestinian state.
“If the Palestinians are unwilling to accept such a formula,” the defense minister explained, “Europe will be with us and that would largely empty the Palestinian accomplishment at the UN General Assembly.”
He warned, however, that if Israel failed to reach an understanding with the Europeans, “some of them will vote with the Palestinians, and a very problematic process as far as Israel is concerned will begin – even if it won’t have immediate outcomes.”
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Barak also found the time to address the housing protest sweeping Israel. “The protest is real and legitimate,” he said. “We are talking about the backbone of Israeli society. These are people who work, pay taxes and serve in the reserve forces. A couple has to work for 10 years for an average apartment.
“Indirect taxes in the State of Israel are among the highest in the world,” Barak added. “I have been saying this for a long time, and I believe this is real and requires fixing. I hope that we, as a government, will deal with these things as fast as we can.”
HCQ Said:
Bravo. Only it’s insufficient. The scheme was so negligent that those who concocted and signed off on it should be tried at a minimum as accessories to attempted manslaughter.
1. Who told you these Turks were “unarmed”?
2. Be so good as to define “murder.”
3. Then kindly tell us why the Israel govt would “murder” same? — What would G.O.I. have to gain from such behavior?
LT COL HOWARD Said:
I believe that Turkey will follow its interests regardless of whether Israel receives an apology. We talk about maintaining deterrance. Not being a pushover is part of it. No apology where none is done.
The only people Israel should apologize to are the soldiers she sent into harm’s way armed with paintball guns.
Israel and many of its supporters frustrate me. Israel threatens too much and threatens too loudly. Then its actions are far less than its threats, losing credibility. I urge Israel and its supporters to speak softly but, and I emphasize “but”, not only carry a big stick but use the big stick. The peacock spreads its feathers to look frightening. However, all of us know that this is a pose and don’t take it seriously.
When the 1st rockets from Gaza struck Israel my Egyptian aide said: “for the 1st rocket you destroy several Hamas buildings at night. For the 2nd rocket you destroy several of the headquarters by day inflicting casualties. If there is a 3rd rocket you target several of their leaders. You announce that your ratio of return fire will be 5 to 1 for the next rocket and 10 to 1 for the rocket after that. Then you live up to your threats.
I also urge Israel and its supporters to place close attention to the Mafia. For this I recommend the series of Godfather movies. “He places one of your people in the hospital… You put one of his people in the morgue.”
Concerning apology there are too many Israelis who bristle with pride. Your question should be what actions help us achieve our goal of survival and reduce the chances of terrorism and open conflict. Currently, replacing the regime in Syria offers the possibility of diminishing the effectiveness of Iran and Hezbollah. It offers the risk that a successor government will be hostile to Israel and that the currently peaceful borders might erupt. Here, Turkey’s support (for its own reasons) might be useful to Israel. That should be foremost in any calculations concerning “apology”.
Rather than have the state of Israel seek compensation from the terrorists, Israel should encourage and promote the families of victims as well as the families of those who been affected by the terrorism in any way to seek compensation in all possible national and international forms. Here, I do not know Israeli law but Israel might pass laws enabling such lawsuits in Israeli courts.
In the military we form a strategic vision and we employ tactics and counter tactics to achieve that vision.. I think that most of us share the strategic desire for a secure and prosperous Israel. Where we differ are on the tactics. I Urge Israel and its supporters to focus on achieving the objective. It might be bitter pills that are swallowed along the way but Israelis should unite in saying “it is our future that we have to unite on.”
As an outside observer I find Israeli politics and Israeli government dysfunctional. Israel has so many problems to solve. Internal dissension reduces the ability for Israel to solve these problems. Another Arab associative of mine once observed that if the Arabs ceased the pressure on Israel… Israel with all of its internal dissensions would fly apart. I hope he is not correct… But I am afraid he is.
Israel should not apologize let alone offer compensation.
Israel should demand an apology and demand compensation from the estates of the dead terrorists for the harm inflicted on her soldiers.
Turkey also wants Israel to end the blockade. Where does Turkey come off demanding anything.
If “good relations” with Turkey depend on rubbing our nose in the dirt it isn’t worth anything. What a horrible way to restart relations.
No way, no how.
Lt Col Howard is worth listening to – there are apologies and apologies. There are those which say we are very sorry, genuinely so, and those which say we are saying this to save your face, but be in no doubt that if the same situation were to arise in the future, we would do the same, but much better. He advocates the latter. I am inclined to agree with him, because we should have no doubt that the world as a whole shares the view expressed by Myron – not my view, but Myron does not deserve the insults.
Of course the Jews are expected to apologize. Bristle under criticism and then fold like a cheap suit; it’s expected of you. The world likes its Jews cowed and acquiescent.
Myron Said:
Dumb lying putz.
Myron,
I have no idea from which forlorn galaxy you hail from but internalize this and well…
There are still 350 Turkish workers inserted here to work in exchange for military trade, basically to spy.
Trade meaning the Turks bought from us old Merkava designs and parts. Just as they bougth drones a couple of years back.
We want that element OUT! We do not need islamic Turks or islamic Turkish anything.
If they ever revert to being governed by Ataturk’s folk, no problem. As the insolent islamic setting there is today. BY! Not even their own Senior Military can stomach the trash.
We well remember their possession of Eretz Israel before the Brutish took over and were unceremoniously kicked out. The Turks stole every tree to fuel their RR system, raped and killed at will as their beasts did to the Armenians.
BOTTOM LINE Myron.
ANYONE that comes into our territorial domain or plans to do so to cause us harm and arm selves to that end is going to be dealt with as required. And Myron, our territorial domain includes the Gaza basin. The UN, even the UN confirmed our right of blockade there.
In Israel the putrid “media” creates constant mayhem to twart any attempt to have the country heading into its real purposes.
Amongst the tools used by the ghastly trash is the fabrication of what they call “ethrogim”, special items.
They count with the help of what the original unjews called “va’adot messadrot”, “arrangements commissions”, those packed with folk specially trained to screw the voters if not of their own.
They, aided by other political garbage can turn the most disastrous punk such as Peretz into a “defense minister”. To turn a groteske yentz pile such as Barak into also a “leader” would be standard procedure for the same cadres.
THE PEOPLE must crush that system or we will all be always in the boiling pot of the unJews.
Face facts: Israel needs Turkey more than Turkey needs Israel. And, Israe did murder nine unarmed Turks. An apology and compensation is long overdue.
Even in Israel where generals play the politician and polititians play the general, how anyone as inept at both roles managed to act in both of those mystifies me. Backboneless Barak buckled in Washington and snivellingly conceded the wisdom of those who bullied him. Fine, that was only to be expected. But the questions remain of why the USA administration is pressuring Israel to apologise to the turkeys rather than leaning on the Turks to apologise for their complicity in an attempt at illegal blockade busting and why the USA is pressuring Israel to make concessions to eliminate th Obama administration’s need to do what is both right and legal? The demand by the turkeys is all the more despicable when one bears in mind the illegal Turkish blockade of Armenia, with which it was never at war and which does not threaten it, all because Armenia defeated Azerbaijan in regaining Nagorno-Karabakh a district cut off from it by Stalin.
Barak is Israel’s DEFENSE Minister?? Too bad he tends to defend everyone else and not Israel. I actually wanted to respond more to some of the things that Barak was quoted as saying in the article above, but so much of his perspective or ideas is so absurd that it doesn’t warrant a response.
@ Mladen Andrijasevic, Israel:
I agree!
@ Laura:
I agree!
@ LT COL HOWARD:
I disagree, no matter how it’s worded it will be spun by Turkey as an apology and it will be used by them as proof they were right we were wrong.
In any event Barak’s reasoning is false: the UN report absolves Israel of any significant wrongdoing.
A bad precedent for any future relations. That said, our relations with Turkey in so far as normal trade is increasing not decreasing and I don’t think it wise at the moment to continue military sales to Turkey that will or could be used against us, transferred to other enemy states or reverse engineered. I would support the Kurds and the Greeks instead. The Kurds at least are sitting on Oil and Greece could be the terminus for our gas sales to Europe. The Turkish military and Intelligence services that were once friendly and helpful have been mostly purged with Military that are not friendly towards us.
Turkey military chiefs resign over Sledgehammer ‘coup plot’ arrests
Chiefs of general staff, army, navy and air force take ‘early retirement’ in protest at detention of 250 officers
This is not the time to seek closer relations with Turkey!!!!
I agree with Barak. Applogies are in order.
He must apologize for having created the Hebollah monster, for following in the footsteps of the nefarious “Oslo Accords”, for having abandoned wounded soldiers in Tzeilim, and another wounded soldier in Kever Yoseph and in general, apologize for just being.
So he must apoligize as well for sabotaging again the State as a whole.
Turkey sent intentionally IHH monsters to harm our soldiers and ended up killed.
There must not ever be “proportionality” in cases of attacks or apologies after a military operation.
No apologies to Turkey are due.
Then… looking at those up there I cannot fathom how low are they capable of falling.
Fine: let Ankara apologize for organizing the project in the first place.
That’ll clear the air.
Or, alternatively, Jerusalem could “regret that we didn’t foresee that ouir friend, the Turkish Govt, would permit such an obviously malicious project to go forward with its say-so.”
@Laura – The mafia knows that you send a bouquet of flowers to the funeral of the person you just “rubbed out”. The more outrageoust he crime, the bigger the bouquet. Remember the advice: it is easier to ask for “forgiveness” after the act, then it is to obtain “permission” before they act.. Israel should take a leaf from the Palestinians and use words as tools to help them accomplish whatever they plan to do. Thus, I support a suitably worded “apology”. As I have said elsewhere this apology can be a tool to help cement Israel’s position in terms of the blockade being lawful, the requirement to stop the ships being necessary, and the intentions of the commandos to be honorable. Israel can regret not foreseeing that they would be met with hostile action. Israel can regret that it didn’t use a larger force. it can regret not sinking the damn ship. Israel can have lots of regrets–that doesn’t mean Israel did wrong it just means that in the future Israel will try to figure out how to do it more effectively.
@Mladen Andrijasevic, Israel – Here the word “apology” is a hot button. If one reads the full statement and NOT the headline one can phrase a statement of regret. This is common in Hollywood and IN show business where awful behavior is “apologized” for with the statement that“if anyone is offended, I deeply regret it”. Here is an opportunity to reaffirm the legality of the blockade, the necessity to stop the vessels, and the good intent of the commandos. Something like “Israel deeply regrets the loss of life”. This should be coupled with that Israel is studying other means of enforcing the blockade like disabling the ships. I believe that the wording of the “apology” should emphasize the need for and legality of the blockade and say that in future actions the advice of the Turkish government and military will be solicited. In other words we are sorry that things went wrong and in the future, if you think of a better way for us to be effective, we will be glad to listen to you.
Appoligizing to Turkey would have a reverse effect. As soon as Barak does, Turkey will say “I told you so”.
Obviously the Obama administration did some arm-twisting to a frightened and feckless Ehud Barak. He really has no business being defense minister. Turkey perpetrated an act of war against Israel last year when it sent the Mavi Marmara with the jihadist IHH aboard for the very purpose of provoking a confrontation. So therefore it is Turkey which should be apologizing to Israel and its Turkey which the Obama administration ought to be strong arming. But as is ALWAYS the case, muslims are never expected to take responsibility for their actions or apologize or acknowledge wrongdoing. It makes no difference how horrible their actions and how obviously in the wrong they are. The west consistently indulges this infantile attitude on the part of muslims.
The only apology Israel should make is that they didn’t kill enough of the “flotilla crew”.
Apologizing to Turkey would be a major error on Israel’s part. It would display that our political leadership has no understanding of the jihadi mindset that is prevalent in the present Turkish government. At this time our government should be explaining to its population the implications of the death of the doctrine of mutual assured destruction ( MAD is Dead http://madisdead.blogspot.com/ ), not brownnose Turkey.