Ahmet Davutoglu’s comments came a day after Turkey expelled the Israel’s ambassador and severed military ties with the country, angered over its refusal to apologize for last year’s deadly raid on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla that killed nine pro-Palestinian activists.

In an interview with Turkey’s state-run TRT television, Davutoglu dismissed a UN report into the raid that said Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza was a legal security measure. Davutoglu said the report — prepared by former New Zealand Prime Minister Geoffrey Palmer and former Colombian President Alvaro Uribe, and presented to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon — was not endorsed by the UN and was therefore not binding.

“What is binding is the International Court of Justice,” Davutoglu said. “This is what we are saying: let the International Court of Justice decide.” “We are starting the necessary legal procedures this coming week,” he said.

But Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon said his country has nothing to apologize for and that it has done all it could to avoid a crisis with Turkey. He said the Turks apparently intended to raise tensions with Israel for its own reasons.

“The problem here is on the Turkish side ... They were not ready for a compromise and kept raising the threshold,” Ayalon said on Israeli TV Saturday. “I think we need to say to the Turks: as far as we are concerned, this saga is behind us. Now we need to cooperate. Lack of cooperation harms not only us, but Turkey as well.”

Davutoglu said the UN report released Friday contradicted an earlier report on the Gaza flotilla incident which found that Israeli forces violated international law when they raided the flotilla. That report was prepared in September by three human rights experts appointed by the UN’s top human rights body. He also warned Israel that it risks alienation among Arab nations by resisting an apology.

“If Israel persists with its current position, the Arab spring will give rise to a strong Israel opposition as well as the debate on the authoritarian regimes,” Davutoglu said.

On Saturday, Ban Ki-moon, secretary-general of the UN, urged Turkey and Israel to mend ties for the good of the Middle East peace process. “I sincerely hope that Israel and Turkey will improve their relationship,” Ban said.

“Both countries are very important countries in the region and their improved relationship — normal relationship — will be very important in addressing all the situations in the Middle East, including the Middle East peace process,” he said, referring to a negotiated Palestinian-Israeli peace pact.