Turkey says in reconciliation talks with Israel

[bemildred]

Istanbul: Turkey on Wednesday said it was holding talks with the Israeli regime over a deal to reconcile the two former allies following a deadly Israeli commando raid on a Turkish aid vessel bound for Gaza.

“It’s quite normal for the two countries to talk for the normalisation of the ties. How can reconciliation be achieved without holding any meetings?” Mevlut Cavusoglu told reporters in Ankara.

Cavusoglu’s comments came a day after Israel’s Haaretz daily reported that Israeli and Turkish officials had held secret talks in Rome on Monday in a bid to restore relations between the two countries.

Cavusoglu confirmed such a contact had been made and said: “These meetings are not new. Expert-level talks have been held between the two countries for a while.”

http://gulfnews.com/news/mena/turkey/turkey-says-in-reconciliation-talks-with-israel-1.1540383

[Fozzledick]

1. Turkey should apologize to Israel for sending terrorists to attack their defense forces

and stop pandering to anti-Semitism for domestic political support.

[bemildred]

2. Activists to set sail in new bid to break Gaza blockade

Activists aboard a flotilla of boats are set to sail for Gaza in a fresh bid to break Israel's blockade of the territory, five years after a similar attempt ended in a deadly raid by Israeli soldiers.

Preparations were under way on Wednesday for the so-called Freedom Flotilla III, a convoy of ships carrying pro-Palestinian activists, at least one European Parliament member and an Arab-Israeli MP.

Al Jazeera has learned that the activists could set sail to Gaza as early as Friday.

Their campaign comes as Israel faces international pressure over its actions in Gaza, with a UN report released on Monday saying both Israel and Palestinian armed groups may have committed war crimes during last year's conflict in the besieged coastal enclave.

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/06/flotilla-activists-set-sail-bid-break-gaza-blockade-150624045535989.html

[oberliner]

4. "Reaching Gaza is not the point"

Kahel said: "We already consider this mission successful. Reaching Gaza is not the point."

http://www.aljazeera.com/blogs/middleeast/2015/06/gaza-freedom-flotilla-150623230051285.html

In case anyone thinks this is about getting aid to Gaza, it's not. Reaching Gaza is not the point.

[grossproffit]

5. It never is. It's about demonizing Israel, period.

It's a sport for some. If it really was about Palestinians this petition would have been @ hundreds of thousands by now.

https://www.change.org/p/canadian-government-allow-john-calvin-to-stay

[R. Daneel Olivaw]

6. Got ya talking about it, huh ober?

It's part of a bigger picture, but I understand how you might miss that.

[oberliner]

7. We've been talking about it here since long before you joined us

These stunts have been going on for quite a while now.

For instance, from 2008:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=124x222143

[King_David]

8. Not talking very loud

Except in this group.

IS seems to be hogging the spotlight at the moment.

[geek tragedy]

3. Erdogan and Bibi, they seem made for each other nt