Turkish workers may lose jobs in Israel

Mon Dec 27, 2010

Hundreds of Turkish employees may lose their jobs in Israel after Tel Aviv's deadly attack on a Gaza-bound aid convoy sparked tensions between the two sides.

Turkey's construction company Yilmazlar Holdings said on Sunday that 800 employees may return to Turkey at the end of this year, Israeli website Ynetnews reported.

In 2003, Turkey and Israel signed an agreement by which Tel Aviv Aerospace Industries (IAI) will sell security and industrial equipment to Ankara and in exchange allow Yilmazlar to keep employees in Israel.

The deal is usually renewed on January 1 each year, but the rising tension has caused the Turkish government to delay its answer this year and it has not yet renewed the deal.

"We are still working on projects we have already begun here, worth hundreds of millions of shekels, but we haven't signed anything new. The employees are really scared, they keep asking what will happen if they are deported?" Yilmazlar's director in Israel Ahmet Arik argued.

On May 31, Israeli commandos attacked a Gaza-bound aid convoy in international waters, killing nine Turkish peace activists and injuring dozens of others.

The fleet was carrying approximately 750 human rights activists and around 10,000 tons of construction material, medical equipment and school supplies for the impoverished people of Gaza.

Turkey has repeatedly called on Israel to apologize over the incident and compensate the families of the victims.

On Sunday, Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman reiterated that Tel Aviv would never make an apology to Ankara over the attack.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail/157376.html.