Lieberman associate: Apology to Turkey is like surrendering to terror

A close associate of Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Tuesday that "an apology to Turkey is like surrendering to terror," adding that Ankara should compensate Israel over the flotilla incident and not vice versa, Israel's Ynetnews reported.

The remark was made in response to statements made earlier by Israeli officials that the aid offered by Turkey as part of the firefighting efforts in the Carmel opened the door for improvement of relations with Ankara.

According to the minister's close associates, from Lieberman's perspective an Israeli apology is out of the question.

"If anyone needs to apologize it's Turkey and it should pay compensation for the aid offered to terrorists and the IHH, which some European countries including Germany, consider as a terror organization," one source said.