PM: Israel-Turkey ties will not normalize unless Gaza assault stops
ANKARA (AFP) -- Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Thursday ties with Israel would not return to normal unless it ceased its deadly offensive on the Gaza Strip.
"You will first stop this oppression. If not, it is not possible to realize normalization between Turkey and Israel," Erdogan said in the central Anatolian city of Yozgat after a dinner breaking the daily Ramadan fast.
Relations between once-regional allies Israel and Turkey hit an all-time low when 10 Turkish activists died in a 2010 maritime assault by Israeli commandos on Gaza-bound ship Mavi Marmara in international waters.
The Israeli assault provoked a sharp response from Ankara, which expelled the Israeli ambassador, demanded a formal apology, compensation for the victims, and an end to the blockade on Gaza -- which is ruled by Hamas, a Palestinian militant group.
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