PRESS ASSOCIATION -- The anticipated publication of a UN report on violence aboard a Gaza-bound protest flotilla last year has led to a further souring of the key Middle East relationship between Israel and Turkey, after Turkey expelled the Israeli ambassador.
Turkey expelled the envoy and suspended military co-operation after insisting on an Israeli apology by the time the report is published.
Israel says there will be no apology. Officials say the report does not demand an Israeli apology, establishing instead that Israel should express regret and pay reparations.
An Israeli official said that the report showed Israel's actions were in keeping with international law. The official said Israel hoped the two countries could now "return to the co-operation that was a cornerstone of regional stability".
Relations between Turkey and Israel, once close, have slid in recent years as Turkey has tilted away from the West. They deteriorated sharply after the flotilla bloodshed.
The UN report says Turkey and Israel "should resume full diplomatic relations, repairing their relationship in the interests of stability in the Middle East and international peace and security", according to a copy obtained by the New York Times.
Turkey announced the expulsion of the Israeli ambassador and suspension of military co-operation hours before the report was to be published, the most significant downgrading in ties between the two countries since the bloody flotilla attack last year.
A senior Israeli government official who had seen the report said earlier this week that Israel has come to believe that Turkey is intent on worsening ties with Israel to bolster its own position in the Arab and Islamic world. While Israel does not rule out quiet talks with Turkey on an expression of regret and reparations to families of the dead activists, the report does not ask for an Israeli apology and there will not be one, he said.
Nine pro-Palestinian activists - eight Turks and one Turkish-American - were killed aboard the Turkish-flagged ship Mavi Marmara on May 31, 2010, after passengers resisted a takeover by Israeli naval commandos. The flotilla was en route to Gaza in an attempt to bring international attention to Israel's blockade of the Palestinian territory. Each side blamed the other, claiming self-defence.
After the violence triggered an international outcry, Israel eased restrictions on goods moving into Gaza overland but left the naval blockade in place. The activists say the blockade constitutes collective punishment and is illegal. Israel asserts that it is necessary to prevent weapons from reaching the militants who regularly bombard Israeli towns with rockets from Gaza, which is ruled by the Islamist Hamas.