5 September 2011 - 19:30

Turkey has issued a deadline to members of Israel's diplomatic mission to leave the country, in line with Ankara's decision to downgrade ties with Tel Aviv.

(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - Turkey said it has issued two days' notices to Ella Aphek, the Israeli embassy's deputy head of mission, and other top Israeli diplomats.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said on Friday that the country had suspended all its military ties with Tel Aviv and expelled Israel's envoy from Ankara.

The measures came in response to Israel's refusal to apologize for its attack on Freedom Flotilla, which had set sail for the Tel Aviv-blockaded Gaza Strip in May 2010. Israeli soldiers attacked the convoy, killing nine Turkish activists and injuring around 50 others.

Davutoglu has also said the country plans to take action at the International Court of Justice in The Hague to challenge Tel Aviv's four-year siege of Gaza. The blockade has been preventing the flow of food, medicine, and other supplies into the impoverished coastal territory.

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