A majority of Israelis think the country’s recent decision to apologize to Turkey over the deaths of nine activists aboard a blockade-busting ship to Gaza in 2010 was misguided, a poll released this week found, according to Times of Israel.
The poll, released by the Begin-Sadat Center at Bar-Ilan University, found that 71 percent of Israelis think Benjamin Netanyahu should not have called Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan to apologize for the deaths, which occurred during a clash with IDF troops aboard the Mavi Marmara in May 2010.
The apology, which was prompted by visiting US President Barack Obama, was supposed to lead to a thawing of relations with Ankara – once Israel’s closest regional ally – but relations have remained chilly since the phone call as Israel hashes out details of compensation for the deaths with the families of the victims. Twenty-nine percent of respondents supported Israel’s decision to apologize to Ankara.
{Matzav.com Israel News Bureau}
