Turkey halts projects with Israel after deadly raid

Istanbul, June 4 (IANS/AKI) Turkey has suspended all water and energy projects with Israel following the deadly raid by Israeli naval commandos on a humanitarian aid vessel that left many dead, a minister said.

“At a time when we are focussed on the humanitarian aspects of what Israel did, we can’t talk about commercial and economic matters,” Energy Minister Taner Yildiz said in Istanbul Thursday.

“We won’t start any project with Israel until relations with them have been normalised.”

Yildiz singled out the Manavgat water project, which was expected to transport as much as 50 million cubic metres of water from Turkey to Israel annually, and a proposed extension of the Blue Stream 2 natural gas pipeline to Israel as among the projects to be halted.

Cited by Turkish media, Yildiz said the suspension did not include deals between non-government companies.

Projects by companies such as Turkey’s Zorlu Energy group, which has natural gas agreements with Israeli companies including Ashdod Energy, Ramat Negev, and Solad Energy, may continue to proceed.

Israeli commandos Monday raided an aid ship owned by a Turkish charity, the Humanitarian Relief Foundation, killing nine people, mostly Turks.

The ship was part of an international flotilla attempting to break Israel’s embargo of the Gaza Strip, which is controlled by the radical Hamas.

–IANS/AKI