Turkey warships to Gaza threat 'grave': Israel minister

JERUSALEM: Israeli Intelligence Minister Dan Meridor on Friday described as "grave and serious" a threat by the Turkish prime minister to send warships to escort any aid vessels trying to reach the Gaza Strip.

"These remarks are grave and serious, but we have no wish to add to the polemic," Meridor said on army radio. "It is better to stay quiet and wait -- we have no interest in aggravating
the situation by replying to such (verbal) attacks," he said.

Late on Thursday, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Turkish warships would escort any aid ships trying to reach Gaza in defiance of an Israeli naval blockade, in a bid to protect them from Israeli forces.

A senior Israeli official, speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity, called the warships threat "a very grave provocation." "It is very difficult to imagine that Turkey would go so far as to take such action, given its commitments to NATO," the official said.

Meridor said Turkey "would be violating international law" if it tried to break Israel's blockade on Gaza by force.

A UN report into the flotilla incident which was published last week declared the naval embargo to be legal, although it chastised Israel for using excessive force in the raid.

Ankara expelled the Israeli ambassador and suspended all military ties, including defence-related trade contracts, in retaliation for Israel's refusal to apologise for the raid.