Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has again rejected overtures from Israel to rehabilitate relations, which Turkey froze in 2010 after Israel intercepted a terrorist-linked Turkish vessel trying to breach Israel’s legal blockade of the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip. Passengers aboard the MV Mavi Maramara attacked Israeli commandos who were boarding it, triggering a battle that left nine passengers dead. Erdogan further told journalists that he intends to visit the Gaza Strip, a move that may be designed to distract domestic Turkish attention from the crumbling foreign policy of Erdogan’s Islamist Justice and Development Party.

[Photo: chinaview /  Xinhua News Agency]