MK to Erdogan: Let us send aid flotilla to Syria refugees

Kara asks to help Syrians refugees who fled to into Turkey; Kadima's Tibayev sends letter congratulating Turkish prime minister on re-election.

By LAHAV HARKOV
Syrian Refugee Camp in Turkey 311 (photo credit: REUTERS)
Syrian Refugee Camp in Turkey 311
(photo credit: REUTERS)
Members of Knesset reached out to newly reelected Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in two separate letters sent out on Wednesday.
MK Ayoub Kara (Likud) requested permission to send humanitarian aid to Syrians seeking refuge in southern Turkey.
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“In the name of those who fight for freedom, I ask you to allow a mission, which I will lead, that will bring humanitarian aid to Syrian refugees in Turkey,” wrote Kara, who also serves as deputy minister of the Negev and Galilee.
“As a Druse, with a wide regional orientation, I have great concern for the fate of the Syrian nation at large, and specifically the refugees that have been forced to flee their homes.”
Kara added, “As a free person who lives in democratic Israel, I hope that all nations will get the freedom that they were born to have.”
Kara said that the Turkish embassy reacted with surprise, and that the letter will be brought to Erdogan this week.
MK Robert Tibayev (Kadima), head of the Knesset’s Israel-Turkey Friendship Association, sent a letter signed by 12 MKs from Kadima, Meretz and Labor congratulating Erdogan on his re-election.
“We hope your reelection will signify the opening of a new chapter in Israel-Turkey relations – a chapter of fruitful cooperation for the benefit of our two countries and people,” Tivayev wrote. “Let us bury the grudges of the recent past, the tragic events of the Marmara flotilla, and find inspiration in the long history of friendship and cooperation between our countries.”
MK Meir Sheetrit (Kadima), one of the letter’s signatories, said “Israel and Turkey should leave their disagreements aside and start a new path.”
Sheetrit pointed out that “despite everything that’s happened, trade relations with Turkey are still very good. Turkey is important to Israel, and the past doesn’t have to ruin that.”
He added, “Erdogan used the conflict as a political tool, to gain more support.
Now that he was reelected, he can go back to the routine of good relations with Israel.”