JERUSALEM: Israel has decided to return to Turkey three boats which it seized during a deadly commando operation against a Gaza-bound aid flotilla in May, public radio reported on Friday.
The decision, which was taken by the seven ministers of Israel’s inner cabinet, has already been conveyed to the Turkish government and is expected to be implemented in the coming days, the radio said.
There was no immediate defense ministry confirmation of the report.
The May 31 raid against the aid flotilla, in which nine Turkish activists died, sparked a sharp downturn in Israel’s traditionally warm relations with Ankara.
The ferry Mavi Marmara, on which the nine activists were killed as they sought to break Israel’s four-year-old blockade of Gaza, is currently docked in an Israeli naval base in the northern port city of Haifa.
The other two vessels are docked in the southern port of Ashdod.
