Turkey belatedly accepts Israel's earthquake aid
Turkey has asked Israel for urgent aid for the quake-stricken east of the country after initially rejecting several offers from Jerusalem.
On Monday, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan rejected an offer by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a phone conversation between the two leaders. It was the second such rejection since a 7.2 magnitude quake struck Van, in eastern Turkey. On Sunday, despite the frantic search and rescue efforts, Turkey turned down Israel's offer, as well as similar offers from other countries.
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However, on Tuesday the Turkish Foreign Ministry asked that Israel send portable structures to be used as temporary housing for those who had lost their homes in the quake.
Following the request, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman ordered Foreign Ministry director general Rafael Barak to contact the relevant officials in order to transport the needed equipment as soon as possible. Officials indicated that the planned aid shipment was brought about following an initiative by President Shimon Peres, who contacted his Turkish counterpart Abdullah Gul immediately following the quake and offered relief.
Later on Tuesday, a Turkish official indicated that Ankara decided to accept offers of assistance from foreign countries, including Israel, after emergency management authorities declared the country would need prefabricated homes and containers to house survivors.
The Defense Ministry chartered a civilian Boeing 747 on Tuesday night to take seven mobile homes to Turkey on Wednesday. According to a Defense Ministry official, this will be the first of a number of planes that will be sent carrying aid.
Speaking to Haaretz on Monday, several Turks expressed anger for earthquake relief efforts, with one man saying: "There are simply not enough professionals. They work without careful handling. I do not understand why more international crews have not arrived. The Israelis have an excellent rescue team, why isn't [Prime Minister] Erdogan allowing them to come?"
Another survivor said: "There is absolutely no co-ordination, you have to step on people to get a tent. The prime minister should take care of his own people before going to Somalia and Libya. The prime minister runs for help when it's Palestine or Somalia, sends ships to Palestine, almost goes into war with Israel for the sake of Palestinians, but he doesn't move a muscle when it comes to his own people."
The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee announced that it had started collecting money to "ensure the victims' immediate needs are addressed. Our hearts go out to the people of Turkey at this tragic time and we offer our condolences to the families of those lost in the earthquake," said Steven Schwager, JDC's chief executive officer.
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