“Long before the Palmer report was released, initial leaks made it clear why Turkey was demanding an apology from Israel and trying to forestall the report’s publication. Even then, everyone understood that the Palmer report’s committee had unequivocally accepted Israel’s position that the naval blockade of Gaza is legal. The report even established that Turkey had done too little to stop extremists aboard the Mavi Marmara from setting sail in the first place. Turkey understood that once the report was published they would have no chance of squeezing an apology out of Israel, so instead they launched a diplomatic offensive. Israel commendably withstood the pressure. There was nothing to apologize for.”

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