Oh, yeah: The Israeli attack on the Marmara. Erdogan changed his tune after that.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaza_flotilla_raid
Gaza flotilla raid
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Gaza flotilla raid was a military operation by Israel against six civilian ships of the "Gaza Freedom Flotilla" on 31 May 2010 in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea. The flotilla, organized by the Free Gaza Movement and the Turkish Foundation for Human Rights and Freedoms and Humanitarian Relief (İHH), was carrying humanitarian aid and construction materials, with the intention of breaking the Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip.
On 31 May 2010, Israeli Shayetet 13 naval commandos boarded the ships from speedboats[1] and helicopters in order to force the ships to the Israeli port of Ashdod. On the Turkish ship MV Mavi Marmara, according to Israel's own report, the Israeli Navy faced resistance from about 40 of the 590 passengers, including IHH activists – described in an Israeli report as a separate "hardcore group"[2] – who were said to be armed with iron bars and knives.[3] During the struggle, nine activists were killed including eight Turkish nationals and one Turkish American, and many were wounded. According to a UN report, all activist deaths were caused by gunshots, some of them at point blank range or from behind, "execution style".[4][5] On 23 May 2014, the tenth victim of Israeli gunshots died in hospital after being in a coma for four years.[6] Ten of the commandos were also wounded, one of them seriously.[3][7] The five other ships in the flotilla employed passive resistance, which was suppressed without major incident, although many of the passengers on board all ships were beaten, some ending up with broken bones.[8] The ships were towed to Israel, where all passengers were detained and deported.
The raid drew widespread condemnation internationally and resulted in a deterioration of Israel–Turkey relations. Israel consequently eased its blockade on the Gaza Strip. all activists were freed, yet only the Turkish and Greek ships were returned. Israel confiscated and continues to hold the other boats, as well as most of the property (including all media recordings, which is important evidence) of over 700 passengers.[9]
In September 2010, the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) released its report on the Israeli boarding and seizure of the vessels. The report found that the Israeli blockade of Gaza is illegal, and therefore, the boarding and seizure of the vessels was illegal, that the detention of the passengers was illegal, that the confiscation of the passengers' possessions was illegal and there was willful killing on the part of the Israeli commandos.[4][10][11]
On 2 August 2010, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced that the U.N. would conduct an investigation of the incident. The report was published on 2 September 2011 after being delayed, reportedly to allow Israel and Turkey to continue reconciliation talks. The report found that the Israeli naval blockade of Gaza was legal, and that there were "serious questions about the conduct, true nature and objectives of the flotilla organizers, particularly IHH".[12] The report also found that Israel's army used excessive force while the flotilla was still in international waters, and concluded that the degree of force used against the Mavi Marmara was "excessive and unreasonable",[13] and that the way Israel treated detained crew members violated international human rights law.[13]
The government of Israel alleged that the flotilla was organized as a provocation or media stunt,[text 1] and that a hard core of about 40 IHH activists were prepared from the beginning for a violent confrontation.[14] The New York Times, in an editorial, said, "At least some of the activists on the lead ship, the Mavi Marmara, were seeking a confrontation – and got one."[15]
On 22 March 2013, in a half-hour telephone exchange between Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the former apologized on behalf of his nation; Erdoğan accepted the apology and both agreed to enter into further discussions.[16][17] As of May 2014, although several points of agreement had been discussed between the two nations, no agreement has been finalized.[18][19]
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