Israel Apologizes; Turkey Steps Back

Kadri Gursel writes that Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan's acceptance of the Israeli apology, although a positive development, is more important than the actual apology.
Pedestrians look at billboards with the pictures of Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan (R) and his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu (L), in Ankara March 25, 2013. Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday an Israeli apology for the 2010 deaths of nine Turkish pro-Palestinian activists that was brokered by U.S. President Barack Obama met Turkey's conditions and signalled its growing regional clout. The billboard reads, "Israel apologized to Turkey. Dear Prime Minister (Erdogan), We ar
Pedestrians look at billboards with the pictures of Turkey's Prime Minister Erdogan and his Israeli counterpart Netanyahu in Ankara, March 25, 2013. The billboard reads: "Israel apologized to Turkey. Dear Prime Minister (Erdogan), We are grateful that you let our country (Turkey) experience this pride." - REUTERS/Umit Bektas
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Kadri Gürsel
@KadriGursel
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For Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to call Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan [on March 22]  to declare that his country is apologizing to Turkish people for the mistakes during the 2010 flotilla affair, that Israel has accepted to pay compensation to victims' relatives and even has agreed to soften the Gaza blockade is an important development.

But for the apology in this format to be accepted by Erdogan is even more important and a positive development.

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