By Calev Ben-David

July 2 (Bloomberg) — Israel won’t apologize to Turkey for its May 31 raid on an aid flotilla heading for the Gaza Strip in which nine Turkish pro-Palestinian activists were killed, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said late today in an interview with Israel’s Channel One.

“Israel cannot apologize because Israel’s soldiers tried to defend themselves” against the being “massacred,” Netanyahu said.

The incident has severely strained Israel’s political and military ties with Turkey, once its closest ally in the region. Turkey is demanding that Israel make a formal apology, pay compensation and agree to an international inquiry. Israel has begun its own civilian and military inquiries into the incident.

To contact the reporter on this story: Calev Ben-David in Jerusalem at cbendavid@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Heather Langan at hlangan@bloomberg.net