Davutoglu: "In the wake of ısraeli raid, nothing will ever be the same"

No state is above international law, and Israel has to be called to account for its attack last week on a Gaza aid convoy in the Mediterranean, which left nine Turkish peace activists dead, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said yesterday. Speaking at an extraordinary meeting of the board of directors of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) in Jeddah, Davutoglu called the Israeli strike a "determining moment" for the region's history, referring to it as "Turkey's September 11." Davutoğlu added: "It will have a deep influence on our regional and global point of view, and nothing will ever be the same." He said Israel must be held accountable for its "illegal and unacceptable" actions. Davutoglu said the convoy's primary aim was to take humanitarian aid to Gazans. Noting that Israeli soldiers attacked the convoy's ships 72 miles off Israel's coast, Davutoglu said this is the first time that citizens of the Turkish Republic have been killed by soldiers of another country. Accusing Israeli authorities of ordering their soldiers to board the ship without permission and forcefully taking the occupants to an Israeli port without any opportunity to communicate, he said banditry, piracy, planned murder and hijacking were Israel's motives for its actions. Also speaking at the meeting, Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, the Turkish scholar who serves as the OIC's secretary-general, called for an independent, impartial, trustworthy and transparent inquiry in line with international standards to investigate the bloody attack on the convoy. He said the attack is yet another example of Israel's violations of international law. "Israel must face the political and legal consequences of its crimes," he added. Ihsanoglu said Israel had crossed a line through its act of piracy, crime and state terrorism. Calling on Israel to lift the blockade of Gaza, Ihsanoglu said the siege violates Gazans' human and civil rights.