Press TV | May 24, 2014
A Turkish man who was injured in Israel’s 2010 deadly attack on a Gaza-bound flotilla has died after four years in a coma.
Ugur Suleyman Soylemez was left comatose after Israeli soldiers opened fire on the Turkish-flagged Mavi Marmara. The 51-year-old man passed away on Friday.
Relations between Israel and Turkey soured in 2010 after the attack on the Freedom Flotilla in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea on May 31.
Nine Turkish activists on board the ship died and about 50 other people who were part of the team on the six-ship convoy were injured.
The Tel Aviv regime has apologized and offered to pay compensation to the families of the victims in a gesture to end the row.
Meanwhile, on Thursday, Turkey’s Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH) said it would reject any offer by Israel to pay compensation for the Mavi Marmara attack in exchange for dropping a court case.
Ugur Yildirim, a lawyer for the IHH, said the aid agency had gained information that Ankara and Tel Aviv were about to finalize a compensation agreement to settle the dispute over the fatal incident.
Yildirim warned Ankara against the compensation agreement, describing such a deal as “a clear violation of global law principles.”
Turkish and Israeli Officials have not commented on the report yet.
In February, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said no compensation agreement could be reached without a written commitment by Israel to lift its restrictions on the besieged Gaza Strip.