Minister of Industry & Trade (Bayit HaYehudi) Naftali Bennett responded on Wednesday 16 Nissan 5773 to the recent apology to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan from Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu.

“It appears to me that ever since the apology, Erdogan is doing everything possible to compel Israel to regret the move. It should be made clear to Erdogan that if terror is directed at us again at a future date, our response will not be any less serious.”

In his remarks directed at IDF soldiers, Bennett added “We are always behind you. We will always do our utmost to protect our soldiers. We will manage regarding the others. Am Yisrael stands firmly behind you!”

Following the apology from Jerusalem, Erdogan began announcing additional conditions, signaling the restoration of ties will not occur immediately. There is also an ongoing dispute surrounding the amount of restoration Israel will pay each of the families of the nine Turkish citizens killed in the navy commando operation.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)