Israeli newspaper: 'US-Pakistan apology may yield Israel-Turkey detente'

Efforts to find a way to bring about a turnaround in Israel's relationship with Turkey are continuing, and Israel views this as an important goal, the Israeli daily (The Jerusalem Post ) quoted an Israeli government official as saying. The official's comments came within the context of Washington's apology on Tuesday to Islamabad for the accidental killing of 24 Pakistani soldiers in November. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's apology to Pakistan has relevance to the Turkish demand for an Israeli apology over the Mavi Marmara raid because last month Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman cited the US refusal to apologize to Pakistan when discussing Israel's refusal to apologize to the Turks, the daily said. Nine Turks were killed in May 2010 by Israeli troops while trying to break Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip.