The vicious attack left nine dead
Both Turkey and the world are still trying to recover from the shock of Israel’s brutal attack on civilians who were on board an international convoy carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza. The vicious attack left nine peace activists dead and dozens of others injured. Although it is common for Israel to carry out attacks without paying any heed to international laws, its audacity in this latest attack came as a surprise to many, as few thought this pro-violence state would act in such a reckless way to bring it face-to-face with the entire international community.
Now there is the expectation that both the international community and Turkey will respond to the Israeli brutality in such a way that will make it regret carrying out such a reprehensible act.
Addressing the consequences of the Israeli attack on the aid convoy, Radikal’s Cengiz Çandar says as long as the current Israeli government remains in office, as long as Israel does not apologize to Turkey for the attack and as long as it does not give an accounting of the loss of life, Turkish-Israeli relations will remain damaged in a way that cannot be fixed.
“Turkey, a big regional country with 72 million people and gradually rising power in international relations, cannot just simply ignore such aggression targeted at itself. If it does so, it cannot maintain the position it has in today’s world,” Çandar says. In his view, if Turkey can manage this crisis skillfully by working with the outraged international community, this may pave the way to the elimination of Gaza blockade.
Milliyet’s Hasan Cemal agrees with Çandar that Israel should apologize to Turkey for its aggression and bloody piracy, which will be recorded as a black stain in world history. “Otherwise, Turkish-Israeli relations can never recover,” warns Cemal.
With regard to what the international community should do in the wake of Israel’s latest brutality, he suggests that both the Obama administration and the European Union should take immediate action and say “halt” to Israel. “Because those ruling Israel are investing in war instead of peace, and unfortunately they are condemning Israel to damnation,” says Cemal.
Ruling out the possibility of a military operation against Israel as retaliation, Star’s Mustafa Karaalio?lu suggests that the wall of protection surrounding Israel that leads it to act like a bandit state should be destroyed and that Israel should be treated as a non-prestigious and non-trustable gang in every part of the world. “Now, the legitimacy of Israel, as a state that exists through bloodshed and barbarism, has begun to be questioned.
The time to respond to those who do not avoid adopting the practices of a terrorist organization in language they understand has begun,” says Karaalioglu.
F Disli Zibak reported for Todays Zaman
