June 18, 2010
(JTA) -- Turkey's prime minister has shelved 16 bilateral agreements with Israel, Turkey's daily Zaman reported.
Citing Israel's failure to apologize
or offer compensation for killing nine Turks aboard the Mavi Marmara ship on May 31, in Israel's raid on the Gaza-bound flotilla, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan suspended the defense agreements.The Turkish Cabinet is also attempting to turn the European Union against Israel, Zaman reported.
Meanwhile, in the United States, several high-profile congressmen [u]have warned [/u]Turkey against taking a harsh line on Israel.
"There will be a cost if Turkey stays on its present heading of growing more antagonistic to the state of Israel," Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.), the No. 3 Republican in the U.S. House of Representatives, said at a news conference this week, Reuters reported.
