Turkey\’s Today\’s Zaman newspaper reported Tuesday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed his wish to restore relations with Turkey and also discussed his love of Turkish coffee, but stressed: "We will not apologize for Marmara."
According to the Turkish daily, speaking with Turkish reporters in Jerusalem Netanyahu said: “In a region where instability reigns, Israel and Turkey are two quite stable countries. I believe in (our) common interest.” He also discussed the joint Turkish and Jewish history.
Later in the report a \’high-level\’ official is quoted as saying that the two countries have been trying to find a magical formula to mend the bilateral ties, but as of yet the efforts remain fruitless. The official added that Israel is open to proposals from third parties regarding the magical formula.
“The formula needs to not only appeal to both countries but it should also not harm the dignity of either country."
He then went on to discuss the Marmara incident saying that it led to trauma in Israel, but he is of the opinion that it is important for the two countries to get over the trauma at this point. “Have a look at the developments in the region and you will see Israel and Turkey have common interests,” he noted.
The official noted that “Negotiations with Turkey have never been cut off. We still have open channels.” He then implied that the two countries continue to share intelligence through the US. “We share our concerns about chemical weapons which may get into the hands of illegitimate groups.”
Turkey has tried without success to get Israel to apologize for the Mavi Marmara incident, and to compensate those killed as a precondition for normalizing relations. Israel has solely expressed regret for the loss of lives.
Israel says its troops opened fire after coming under attack by activists wielding axes, knives and metal rods. It says soldiers rappelled on to the deck armed with non-lethal paintball guns as their primary weapons, and only resorted to using handguns after they were assaulted.