Israel pays Turkey $20m compensation for Mavi Marmara attack

Israel paid $20 million to Turkey on Friday as compensation for the 2010 attack on the Mavi Marmara, which was part of a Gaza-bound humanitarian aid flotilla, Anadolu has reported. The sum was revealed by Turkish diplomatic sources.

The deal will see the money paid to the families of the victims of the attack by Israeli commandos as part of a normalisation agreement between Turkey and Israel after a six-year hiatus in diplomatic links.

Ten Turkish humanitarian activists were killed by the Israeli troops who attacked the flotilla in international waters as it headed for Gaza to deliver much-needed aid. 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. The siege of the territory remains as strong as ever, however.