Turkey, Egypt to Drill for Natural Gas in the Mediterranean, Threatening Israel’s Energy Dreams

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday urged Israel to end the blockade of the Gaza Strip as he insisted on apology and compensation over a deadly Israeli raid on a Gaza-bound aid ship in May.A fierce critic of Israel, Erdogan spoke after Turkish and Israeli diplomats met for two days in Geneva in a bid to salvage bilateral ties, in deep crisis since the May 31 raid in which nine Turks were killed."If anyone wants to turn a new page, they must first admit their crime... apologise and pay compensation," Erdogan said in a weekly speech in parliament.

ANKARA, Turkey — Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan says Turkey will not fall for a “dirty scenario” and be dragged into the conflict with Syria. Erdogan was speaking Sunday, a day after two car bombings in a town near the Syrian border killed 46 people and raised fears that Turkey may be drawn into the conflict. Erdogan says “we have to maintain our extreme cool-bloodedness in the face of efforts and provocations to drag us into the bloody quagmire in Syria.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to appear before an Israeli commission of inquiry on Monday to explain a commando raid on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla which killed nine Turkish activists. He will be the first of three top officials to give sworn testimony about the May 31 incident in which naval commandos stormed six aid ships trying to run the blockade on Gaza, killing the activists and wounding scores of others.

Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed Sunday to hold Israel to account over its "state terror" in the Middle East as thousands protested against the deadly raid on Gaza-bound aid ships.The Israeli operation, in which nine Turks were killed, has plunged the fragile ties between the onetime strong allies into a deep crisis, with Erdogan hardening his strong criticism of the Jewish state.Gaza "is a historical cause for us," Erdogan said in a public speech in the northwestern city of Bursa, parts of which were carried by the CNN-Turk news channel.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday ruled out making an apology to Turkey over an Israeli military raid on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla that killed nine Turkish activists."We will not apologise, but express our regrets to Turkey," the Israeli leader said in an interview with private television network Channel 10."We don't want our soldiers to be possibly hauled before international tribunals... our soldiers acted in accordance with standards," he said, stressing an apology could be interpreted as an admission of liability.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrived Monday in Baghdad on a visit aimed at boosting political and economic ties between the two neighbours, state television said.The Turkish leader, who heads a large business delegation, is on a two-day visit to Iraq, his first since October 2009, television reported.Erdogan, who is also accompanied by Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, will also travel to Iraq's northern autonomous Kurdish region, the first Turkish prime minister to do so.

A Turkish rights group denounced Wednesday the praises showered by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the naval commandos whose raid on a Gaza-bound aid boat killed nine Turks."Netanyahu's insolence has no limits," Bulent Yildirim, head of the Islamic charity IHH (Foundation of Humanitarian Relief), which owned the boat in question."Killing innocent and defenceless people is not heroic," he added.