Israel pays Turkey $20m compensation over Mavi Marmara assault

Israel paid Turkey $20 million on Friday in compensation for the 2010 commando attack on the Mavi Marmara Freedom Flotilla as it sailed in international waters heading for the Gaza Strip with humanitarian aid, Anadolu has reported Turkish diplomatic sources as confirming.

On 20 August, the Turkish parliament approved a deal which would see Tel Aviv paying $20 million to the families of the victims of the assault as part of a normalisation agreement between Turkey and Israel after a six-year hiatus in ties. Nine humanitarian activists were killed during the attack by Israeli commandos, and one more died of his wounds later.

In the aftermath of the attack, Turkey demanded an official apology from Israel, compensation for the families of those killed, and the lifting of Israel’s Gaza blockade. In 2013, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu voiced regret over the incident to Turkey’s then-prime minister (now President), Recep Tayyip Erdogan. In addition to the compensation, Israel has agreed to Turkey’s humanitarian presence in the occupied Gaza Strip.