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Turkey mulls military escort for Irish blockade-buster vessel 
DEBKAfile Exclusive Report June 3, 2010, 12:11 AM (GMT+02:00) 
Tags:  Pro-Hamas flotilla   Israel-Turkey   Rachel Corrie  

Rachel Corrie - next blockade challenger

Five planes flew out of Israel Wednesday night, June 2, carrying hundreds of foreign passengers and nine bodies from the Turkish-led flotilla Israeli commandos raided and prevented from breaking the Gazablockade two days ago. After surrendering to Turkey's ultimatum to release all the passengers, including the seven members of Islamist terrorist groups who assaulted the Israeli boarding party, DEBKAfilereports the Netanyahu government faced a fresh ultimatum from Ankara: Lift the Gaza blockade now.

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Turkey, Israel near clash after terror cell exposed on flotilla. Israel flies embassy families out
DEBKAfile Exclusive Report
June 2, 2010, 7:21 AM (GMT+02:00) 

Tags:  Israel   Obama   Pro-Hamas flotilla   Turkey 

Turkish terrorists beat up Israel troops

To stop the flotilla crisis from spinning out of control, USpresident Barack Obama asked Israeli PM Binyamin Netanyahu to release all the remaining passengers without delay. His bid for Turkish restraint drew from PM Recep Erdogan the threat that if America did not punishIsrael, Turkey would. Israel began evacuating diplomats' families fromTurkey. Passengers said an al Qaeda-linked cell had imposed a quasi-military regimen aboard the Turkish Marmora.

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Turkey and Israel close to brink
DEBKAfile DEBKA-Net-Weekly
June 2, 2010, 12:34 PM (GMT+02:00) 

Tags:  Israel   Pro-Hamas flotilla   Turkey 

Turkish prime minister squares off against Israel

The war projected between Israel and the Iran-led bloc ofSyria, Hizballah and Hamas is suddenly overshadowed by Turkish-Israeli hostilities over a deadly Israeli commando raid on an aid flotilla from Istanbul. Against the US president Barack Obama's bid to bridge the rift, Turkish generals are drawing up plans to break Israel's Gaza blockade and avenge 9 deaths, while Israel is bound by its war on terror to thwart them.DEBKA-Net-Weekly offers details of their preparations on the brink. To subscribe to DEBKA-Net-Weekly, click here

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Mossad chief: Obama's perceived military "softness" weakens Israel
DEBKAfile Special Report
June 1, 2010, 7:16 PM (GMT+02:00) 

Tags:  Mossad Director   US-Israel 

Mossad Director Meir Dagan

In a rare public expression of concern, Meir Dagan, head of Israel's Mossad, warned Tuesday, June 1, that the progressive decline of American strength over the past decade and the perception of the Obama administration as "soft on military options for solving disputes" have cut deep into Israel's military and diplomatic maneuverability and made it fair game for its enemies. Barack Obama has not given up on an imposed peace solution - or radically amended his attitude toward Israel.

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Two more boats head for Gaza as Israel vows to stop them
DEBKAfile Special Report
June 1, 2010, 11:33 AM (GMT+02:00) 

Tags:  Israel   Pro-Hamas flotilla   UN 

Flotilla activists released white doves of peace when they set out from Istanbul.

With two more vessels due to sail within 48 hours to continue the challenge to Israel's Gaza blockade, Israel's deputy defence minister Mattan Vilnai stressed the Israeli commando raid on the pro-Palestinian flotilla succeeded in its mission - although the loss of life was regrettable. Mistakes were made but the IDF would learn from them and defend the blockade in other ways, he said.

He dismissed rising demands at home for the defence minister Ehud Barak to step down.

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