United Nations, June 01: Israel has “lost all legitimacy” after conducting a raid against an aid flotilla that killed at least nine people, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told the Security Council on Monday.
“A nation state that follows this path has lost its legitimacy as a respectful member of the international community,” he said at an emergency session of the council called to discuss the raid.
“Israel has committed a serious crime, in total disregard of all the values that we have vowed to uphold since the establishment of the United Nations system,” the most senior Turkish diplomat said.
“Israel’s action is a grave breach of international law. In simpler terms, it’s tantamount to banditry and piracy. It’s murder conducted by a state,” he said.
Reports suggested that most of those killed in the early morning raid were Turks, and Ankara has responded with outrage to the incident, recalling its ambassador to Israel.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaking earlier Monday in Chile accused Israel of practicing “state terror,” and rejected Israeli claims that pro-Palestinian activists on the ships were armed.
“These boats that left from Turkey and other countries were checked in a strict way under the framework of the rules of international navigation and were only loaded with humanitarian aid,” he said, before cutting short his trip to return to Ankara.
At Turkey’s request, NATO will hold emergency talks on the incident on Tuesday.
–Agencies