As UN report delayed, Ankara firm on demand for apology, compensiton from Israel

As the release of a UN report into the incident was delayed, Turkish and Israeli leaders yesterday dug in their heels over any reconciliation concerning last year's raid on the Gaza-bound Mavi Marmara aid ship. Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu reiterated Ankara's position that for Turkey to reestablish ties with Israel, an apology for is a must. "Israel slaughtered nine Turks, one of them a US citizen, in international waters," Davutoglu told reporters. "We said the same thing since last year. Israel must apologize and pay compensation for this." But Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said that Israel shouldn't apologize. "There are some things I'm willing to discuss and some things I'm not," Lieberman told the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. "I will not have an apology harm Israel's national dignity, and I will not see Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers humiliated."