Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya 'alon on Tuesday criticized a Turkish court's recent decision to issue arrest warrants against former senior Israeli army officers for their roles in a 2010 commando raid on a Turkish ship that resulted in the death of 10 Turkish citizens.

"It appears to be more political than legal," Ya'alon commented on the decision during his visit to a military base in the Jordan Valley.

"Israel was willing to normalize relations with Turkey. Regretfully, the Turkish side lacks the ripeness to resolve the issue," the defense minister said.

Ya'alon also expressed hopes that the diplomatic fallout with Turkey was reversible, noting that Israel welcomes the continued bilateral trade ties. "I hope that on the diplomatic level, too, the relations between the two countries will be improved in the future."

The Istanbul Seventh Court of Serious Crimes on Monday requested an Interpol Red Notice for arresting former Israeli Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi, as well as Israel's former Naval Forces Commander Eliezer Alfred Marom, former Military Intelligence chief Amos Yadlinir and former Air Forces Intelligence head Avishai Levi, all of whom have been tried in absentia.

Turkish prosecutors have already demanded life sentences for the four Israeli former generals for their involvement in the raid on the Mavi Marmara, a ship participating in a Gaza-bound aid flotilla in 2010 that attempted to break Israel's long-standing naval blockade of the Gaza Strip.

Ties between Turkey and Israel were strained after the raid but improved after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a rare apology to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan over the incident, which was brokered by US President Barack Obama.


Newspaper headline: Turkey 'lacks ripeness' to restore ties with Israel: official