Israeli deputy PM: "Further tension benefits neither Israel nor Turkey"

Expressing hope that ties between Ankara and Tel Aviv can be mended, Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Dan Meridor on Wednesday said that continuing the current tension between the two countries benefits neither side. "At the end of the day, despite the tragic event, the interests of the two nations are important," Meridor told a group of visiting Turkish journalists, referring to last year's Israeli raid on the Mavi Marmara aid ship, in which eight Turkish peace activists died. "This continuation of tension helps neither Turkey nor Israel. I wish that everybody will do what they have to do so that the relationship can go back to what it used to be."