U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has urged Turkey to continue dialogue with Israel. In a 45 minute meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davotuglu on Monday, Clinton deemed the relationship between to the countries crucial to the future of the Middle East.
Earlier, State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said after their conversation that the secretary encouraged the foreign minister to continue important dialogue with Israel because that relationship remains a vitally important one to the future of the region.
The relationship between the two countries was once close, but Israel's deadly May 31 raid on a Turkish-flagged humanitarian ship bound for Gaza exacerbated tensions already in place since the Israel Defense Forces' 2008-2009 war with the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip. Israel has refused Turkey's demand that it offer compensation and an apology to the families of the nine people killed in the raid.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan told reporters in Serbia on Monday that his country would not drop that demand.
We have three expectations from Israel. We demand an apology, compensation for the families of victims and an end to Gaza blockade, Erdogan said, according to Turkish media.
His comments came just as the Israel Defense Forces released an investigative report on the flotilla raid that blamed the fatal consequences on intelligence failures.
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Haaretz…