Reactions to the Gaza flotilla raid

US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter met Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu July 21 to try to ease tensions over the Iran nuclear deal, as the Israeli leader urged lawmakers in Washington to reject the hard-won agreement.

A Turkish aid group said on Aug. 11 it would send ships again to challenge the Israeli blockade of Gaza, four years after Israeli commandos stormed its flotilla bound for the Palestinian territory and killed 10 people.
   

Turkish Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Feridun Sinirlioğlu has conveyed to his Israeli counterpart that diplomatic normalization between the two countries is not possible due to the ongoing Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip, a Turkish official has told the Hürriyet Daily News.

Turkey has declared three days of national mourning over Israel's Gaza operations, which have claimed the lives of over 500 Palestinians so far, Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınç has announce.

It is a rare move, as Turkey does not usually declare mourning over disasters or incidents in foreign countries.

As Palestine becomes a presidential campaign issue for all three candidates in Turkey, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has criticized U.S. President Barack Obama for stressing Israel's "right to self-defence" about its military operation in Gaza.

Israeli diplomatic missions targeted by demonstrators

ANKARA -- The Turkish police used water cannons to disperse demonstrators who threw stones at the Israeli consulate in Istanbul.

They were protesting against Israel's ground offensive in the Gaza Strip.

Israel’s approach to the Palestinians is no different to the mentality of Adolf Hitler, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has said, accusing Israel of committing “systematic atrocity and state terror” against the Palestinians since 1948.

Four Bulgarian nationals have been evacuated from the Gaza Strip, Bulgaria's Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced.

The Bulgarians contacted the embassy in Tel Aviv and the diplomatic office in Ramallah, which organized their evacuation on July 13.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said July 10 ties with Israel would not return to normal unless the Netanyahu government ceased its deadly offensive on the Gaza Strip.

Killing of kidnapped teenagers condemned

ROME -- The Vatican has condemned the killing of three Israeli teenagers in the West Bank, describing it as "hideous and unacceptable crime" and an obstacle to peace.