Israeli Trade Minister Reacts to International Criticism

Close confidant of PM Netanyahu calls criticism of Israel 'painful.'

ByABC News
June 21, 2010, 9:54 AM

June 21, 2010 — -- Binyamin Ben-Eliezer, 74, Israel's trade minister and a confidant of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, discusses the massive criticism of his country following the Israeli army's deadly raid of the pro-Gaza flotilla and recent setbacks in relations between Germany and Israel.

SPIEGEL: Since the raiding of the pro-Gaza flotilla, in which nine people were killed, Israel has been the focus of harsh international criticism. Do you take this criticism seriously?

Ben-Eliezer: I take it very seriously. Firstly since it has lost all proportion and secondly because it works: Every day a new country is joining the anti-Israeli camp.

SPIEGEL: Was the raid a mistake?

Ben-Eliezer: We walked into a trap. The so called "peace flotilla" was a planned provocation by mercenaries of the "axis of evil". In retrospect, it was a mistake to storm the ships in international waters, although we were allowed to do so.

SPIEGEL: The international community views that differently. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused Israel of "state terrorism".

Ben-Eliezer: I know Erdogan well. I draw a clear distinction between the relationship amongst countries and those between people. While people can get upset with each other, between countries you must be pragmatic. Turkey has a strategic significance for Israel. Therefore, we have to sustain our relations with Ankara at any price. Erdogan has so far made a strategic decision in favor of Iran and Syria and against Israel, but we should leave the door open for his return.

SPIEGEL: Why did your government reject an international investigation?

Ben-Eliezer: I am not the right person to ask, since I spoke in the cabinet in favor of an international committee, even if it is led by the United Nations. I am confident that the national commission that we set up will work seriously. On the other hand, we raise the suspicion that we have something to hide. But the more I learned about the facts of the operation, the more evident it became to me that we have nothing to be worried about.