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| Europe |
| Turks mourn victims as Gul warns Israel on ties |
| 2010-06-04 |
| [Al Arabiya Latest] Thousands thronged an Istanbul mosque on Thursday for the funeral of Turkish activists killed in an Israeli naval raid on a Gaza-bound aid ship, as President Abdullah Gul told an outraged nation that ties with Israel would never be the same again. Draped in Turkish and Palestinian flags, the coffins of eight of the nine dead were brought to Fatih mosque, a grand Ottoman structure in one of Istanbul's most pious areas for a service before being dispersed around the country for burial. "You head to heaven. May God bless your martyrdom," read a huge banner on one side of a square brimming with mourners, among them some who had been aboard the Gaza-bound aid flotilla and had arrived back in Istanbul just hours earlier. "We are deeply sad but at the same time we are outraged," said Hulya Sekerci, 36, a charity worker from Istanbul. "Nine people were killed. The whole world must react to this. The government must do more than just speak angry words." All nine dead men -- eight Turks and U.S. citizen of Turkish origin -- were aboard the converted cruise ship Mavi Marmara when Israeli commandos boarded it in international waters. The United States, meanwhile, said it would probe the death of an American killed in an Israeli raid on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla, but said the FBI would not be involved "at this point." "We will look into the circumstances of the death of an American citizen, as we would do anywhere in the world at all times," State Department spokesman Philip Crowley told reporters. When asked if the FBI would be involved, he replied: "At this point, no." Gul earlier issued a stark warning, echoing the words of Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, declaring Turkey would never forget such an attack on its ships and people in international waters. "Israel made one of the greatest mistakes in its history. It will see in time what a huge mistake it made," the president told a news conference east of Ankara. The killing of Turks has outraged the Muslim country and brought already strained ties between the Jewish state and Ankara's Islamist-leaning government close to breaking point. Turkey has recalled its ambassador and Erdogan, charging Israel with "state terrorism", has called for those responsible for the deaths to be punished. Other activists, who have given harrowing accounts of their ordeal on the high seas, arrived in Istanbul earlier on Thursday to a hero's welcome by thousands of cheering supporters. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #1 I wonder how much araq Kurds have consumed in the last few days. |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2010-06-04 03:12 |