Turkey Wants U.S. to Condemn Israeli Raid

Turkey demanded on Tuesday that the United States condemn the botched Israeli raid on an aid flotilla that ended with Israeli soldiers killing nine activists.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told reporters ahead of a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton that Turkey was disappointed with the Obama administration's response to the raid.

He said that he had scheduled a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington on Monday to discuss indirect talks with Syria before Netanyahu canceled his trip Sunday.

Turkey Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared Tuesday that Israel had carried out a "bloody massacre" by killing nine people on a Gaza-bound Turkish aid ship and said the two countries had reached a turning point in their long-standing alliance.

The White House has reacted cautiously, asking for disclosure of the full facts about the raid. The killings have put the administration in an awkward position between two allies at a time that it is trying to refocus Middle East peace talks and win new sanctions against Iran in the United Nations Security Council.

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In a sign of the sensitivity of the raid on U.S.-Turkish relations, the State Department closed coverage of the meeting to the press. It had previously scheduled a photo opportunity, a venue in which reporters probably would have tried to ask questions.

Before they met, however, Davutoglu was perfectly open about the message he would convey to Clinton.

"I have to be frank: I am not very happy with this statement from Washington yesterday," Davutoglu said. "We expect a clear condemnation."

He said that Turkey, a NATO member, would bring up the issue soon at the security alliance's council.

"Citizens of member states were attacked by a country that is not a member of NATO," he said. "I think you can make some conclusions out of this statement."

Davutoglu said that there was no need to wait for an investigation of the killings, because in Turkey's view the raid was illegal under international law because it happened in international waters.

"This is a criminal act," he said. "We don't need to make an investigation to see this."

Davutoglu also contrasted his criticism of the United States with praise of the statements by the European Union.

Though Turkish-Israeli relations have been rocky for some time, Davutoglu said Turkey had been looking for ways to help facilitate peace talks. He said that he had scheduled a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington on Monday to discuss indirect talks with Syria before Netanyahu canceled his trip Sunday.

Davutoglu said that he discussed the raid with Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Sunday, and Barak had offered condolences.

Turkey withdrew its ambassador to Israel immediately after the raid, scrapped three joint military exercises and called the U.N. Security Council to an emergency meeting that demanded an impartial investigation.

Erdogan told lawmakers in the Parliament that the boarding of the Mediterranean flotilla was an attack "on international law, the conscience of humanity and world peace."

"Today is a turning point in history. Nothing will be same again," Erdogan said.

The flotilla was the ninth attempt by sea to breach the three-year-old blockade Israel and Egypt imposed after the militant Hamas group violently seized the Gaza Strip in 2007, home to 1.5 million Palestinians. Israel allowed five seaborne aid shipments to get through but snapped the blockade shut after its 2009 war in Gaza.

The United Nations Security Council Tuesday called for an impartial investigation into Israel's actions. After an emergency meeting and marathon negotiations, the 15 council members agreed early Tuesday on a presidential statement that was weaker than that initially demanded by the Palestinians, Arabs and Turkey.

They had called for condemnation of the attack by Israeli forces "in the strongest terms" and "an independent international investigation."

Turkey's Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc said Turkey would launch legal action at a Turkish court against Israel over the incident.

Erdogan said the Israeli raid proved "how good they are at killing people."

"Israel in no way can legitimize this murder, it cannot wash its hands of this blood," Erdogan said.

The Security Council's unanimous "presidential statement" also called for the "immediate release of the ships as well as the civilians held by Israel." CBS News foreign affairs analyst Pamela Falk at the U.N. says a "presidential statement," though not as strong as a full U.N. resolution, is a powerful message.

"The U.S. delegation succeeded in tempering the language of the Security Council statement introduced by Lebanon and Turkey, which initially had language condemning Israel and calling for a U.N. investigation," said Falk.

Erdogan said Turkey would continue to support the Palestinian people.

"We will not turn our back on Palestine, Palestinians and Gaza," Erdogan said.

"No one should test Turkey's patience," he added. "Turkey's hostility is as strong as its friendship is valuable."

He urged Israelis to question the actions of their government.

"It is damaging your country's image by conducting banditry and piracy," Erdogan said. "It is damaging interests of Israel and your peace and safety. It is the Israeli people who must stop the Israeli government in the first place."

He said Israel cannot face the international community without expressing "regret."

"Israel cannot ensure its security by drawing the hatred of the entire world," the prime minister declared.

Turkey sent three planes to bring back some 20 Turks wounded during clashes that broke out when Israeli commandos raided the Turkish vessel. Erdogan said he had snubbed an Israeli offer to fly back the Turkish wounded.

The nationalities of the dead have not been released yet.

Turkey has been increasingly assertive diplomatically in the Middle East. It has also accused Israel of abandoning Turkish-mediated talks with Syria, which demands the full withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Golan Heights as a condition for peace.

Meanwhile, another large cargo ship, the MV Rachel Corrie, had left port in Ireland and was sailing toward Gazan waters Tuesday.

Dr. Arafat Shoukri, Director of the Council for European-Palestinian Relations, a partner in the "Free Gaza" aid operation, told CBSNews.com the Corrie was still three days away from the Middle East and that the flotilla's organizers "have not decided yet" whether it should continue on its path.

"We will decide in the coming two days," Shoukri told CBS.

He said he was "sure" any activists who engaged in violence against Israeli troops Monday did so "in self defense". Shoukri said his organization doesn't believe the Security Council's condemnation of the "acts" goes far enough. "It should be stronger," he told CBS in a phone interview.

Asked whether the roughly 20 people - mostly European nationals - aboard the Corrie were in any way armed or braced for clashes with Israeli Defense Forces, Shoukri said: "This is a humanitarian mission ... In no way are they prepared to confront the Israeli military."

CBS News Tel Aviv bureau chief Gaby Silon reports that about 50 foreigners from the ships were brought to an airport detention center in Israel Tuesday, waiting for deportation. Their nationalities were unclear but it didn't seem that American nationals were among those at the airport.

U.S. Embassy officials had been to the port detention center in Ashdod to speak with Americans detained in the raid. The officials would not tell CBS News how many Americans were present.

All Americans were to be deported as soon as bureaucratic procedures were completed, according to the Embassy officials.

Silon reports that Israeli officials were expected to truck much of the aid material brought to the country by Monday's bloodied flotilla into Gaza on Tuesday.

Silon reports that, despite fear of widespread unrest from the Arab population in Israel, the West Bank and Arab villages and towns remained relatively quiet Tuesday morning. Some strikes and demonstrations were planned for later in the day.