Israel's prime minister has once again refused to apologize to Turkey for the Israeli military's deadly raid of a Gaza-bound flotilla that killed nine Turkish activists last year.

But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday his country never wanted ties with Turkey to “deteriorate,” and still does not wish to see relations between the two countries fall apart.

Turkey has expelled the Israeli ambassador and suspended all military ties with Israel in the wake of a United Nations report charging that the raid was legal but that Israel used excessive force.

Israel expressed regret about Turkey's moves in a statement issued Saturday by the prime minister's office, saying Israel “cherishes the significant ties” between the two societies. It also said Israel can not meet Ankara's demand to apologize for the raid because Israel acted in legitimate self-defense.

The report issued last week also noted that while Israeli actions were unacceptable, Turkey did not do enough to prevent a violent confrontation, because some Turkish activist were armed with iron rods and knives used to attack Israeli commandos.

The U.N. report vindicated Israel on a key point — that the Israeli blockade on Gaza is a legal security measure aimed at preventing weapons from reaching Palestinians militants in Gaza. Turkish President Abdullah Gul declared the U.N. report “null and void” for Turkey.

Israel has indicated it would accept the findings of the U.N. report. Turkey has long demanded an Israeli apology, compensation for the families of those who died and a scrapping of the blockade. Israel says it has not ruled out expressing regret and offering compensation.

The report was completed in July but U.N. officials repeatedly have delayed its release to give Israel and Turkey an opportunity to resolve their dispute about the incident.