Tag: Turkey-Israel

‘Turkey committed to ties with Israel’

Report: Turkish officials say flotilla was episode “between friends.”

Turkish officials in the US reiterated that they are committed to maintaining friendly ties with Israel despite ongoing diplomatic tensions between the two countries, according to a report Thursday by Turkish newspaper Zaman.

According to the report, Turkish diplomatic sources disclosed the content of talks held between Turkish Undersecretary Feridun Sinirlioglu and several senior US state and defense officials to the media.

Tensions between Israel and Turkey rose in the wake of the IDF raid on the Turkish Mavi Mamara ship trying to break the Gaza blockade, during which nine Turks were killed on May 31.

The sources explained to US officials that the Mavi Marmara incident was an episode “between friends,” Anatolia news agency reported.

It was the first time that Israel had experienced such an incident with a country that it had good diplomatic relations with, the Turkish sources noted, adding that the impact of the Mavi Mamara incident was heightened due to this, the Zaman report continued.

The report also noted that the Turkish officials said that “the incident had nothing to do with Turkey’s relations with the Israeli state or with the Jewish people, but rather was an issue with the Israeli government.”

If Israel had apologized for the incident and agreed to give compensation then things would have begun to go well sooner, the sources reportedly told the US officials.

https://www.jpost.com/Israel/Turkey-committed-to-ties-with-Israel

August 26, 2010
Turkey in fresh Israel warning over flotilla raid

AFP – Turkey’s foreign minister warned Thursday his country was entitled “to take any measure to protect the rights of civilians” in relation to Israel’s killing of nine people on a Gaza-bound aid ship.

On a visit to London, Ahmet Davutoglu was asked whether Turkey would be prepared to cut diplomatic ties with Israel following the deadly flotilla attack in May which killed eight Turks and a dual US-Turkish citizen.

“We expect Israel either to apologise … or to accept an international investigation. I think this is a just and fair request from Turkey,” he said after talks with British Foreign Secretary William Hague in London.

“If they do not follow these two alternatives, then of course Turkey… have full rights to take any measure to protect the rights of civilians”.

Davutoglu added: “If Israel wants to improve relations with us, then they should accept accountability and do all the necessary actions to prevent deterioration of our relations.”

Turkey has also called for Israel to pay compensation for the deaths, which sparked an international outcry.

Davutoglu said on Tuesday that Turkey would “not stay indifferent” if its conditions for Israel were not met.

Israel has insisted it would “never apologise for defending its citizens”.

France 24

July 8, 2010
Turkey threatens diplomatic break with Israel over raid

Turkey has for the first time threatened to break diplomatic ties with Israel over its raid on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla in May.

Turkey’s foreign minister said a break could only be averted if Israel either apologised or accepted the outcome of an international inquiry into the raid.

The Israeli government said it had nothing to apologise for.

Ankara curtailed diplomatic relations with Israel after the naval raid, in which nine Turks were killed.

Turkey – which until recently was Israel’s most important Muslim ally – withdrew its ambassador and demanded that the Israelis issue an apology, agree to a United Nations inquiry and compensate the victims’ families.

A Turkish foreign ministry official told the BBC relations with Israel had hit rock bottom, but Ankara would not rush into cutting ties.

Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Turkey would be satisfied with the ongoing Israeli inquiry if that found Israel to be at fault.

Mr Davutoglu told Hurriyet newspaper: “[The Israelis] will either apologise or acknowledge an international, impartial inquiry and its conclusion. Otherwise, our diplomatic ties will be cut off.”

He also said there was now a blanket ban in place on all Israeli military aircraft using Turkish airspace, not just on a case-by-case basis.

The BBC’s Jonathan Head in Istanbul says that Turkey appears to be hardening its stance towards Israel, just five days after a surprise meeting between Mr Davutoglu and Israeli Trade Minister Benjamin Ben Eliezer in Switzerland.

Reacting to the new Turkish stance, Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said: “We don’t have any intention to apologise.”

‘Ultimatums’

Foreign ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor told AFP news agency: “When you want want an apology, you don’t use threats or ultimatums.”

Israel says its commandos acted in self-defence after being attacked by activists wielding clubs and knives as the troops boarded one of the aid convoy ships.

Activists on board the Mavi Marmara say lethal force was used from the start of the raid by Israeli forces.

The vessel was part of a flotilla trying to break Israel’s blockade of the Gaza Strip.

Israel says the blockade is needed to prevent the supply of arms to Islamist group Hamas, which controls the territory.

Turkey and Israel forged strong military and trade ties following Ankara’s recognition of Israel in 1949.

But relations have cooled in recent years. The Turkish government headed by the AK Party – which has Islamist roots – strongly criticised the raid launched by Israel in Gaza in December 2008.

In January 2009, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan stormed out of the World Economic Forum in Davos, after a clash with Israeli President Shimon Peres.

In January this year, Israel was forced to apologise over the way its deputy foreign minister treated the Turkish ambassador.

ANALYSIS

Jonathan Head,
BBC News, Istanbul

Emotions are still raw enough over this incident for both sides, Turkish and Israeli, to maintain the hardest possible line, even if behind the scenes they say they want to salvage the relationship.

Although Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu made a hardline statement, it doesn’t look like a fundamental change in position: Turkey is still adamant Israel acted illegally and the flotilla was in international waters.

Turkey’s demands for an apology, compensation and an international inquiry have been unflinching. But Mr Davutoglu did say Turkey would be satisfied if the Israeli inquiry resulted in Israel being found at fault and if the Israeli government apologised. That seems unlikely.

Behind the scenes, the Obama administration is pushing these key US allies to fix their ties. But there is no realistic way of them mending relations for some time yet.

BBC

July 5, 2010
Gul likens Israel to al-Qaeda

Turkish president says flotilla raid ‘crime’ closer to act of terror group than of sovereign state, adds Israel must offer compensation if it wants forgiveness

Israel must make amends to be forgiven for a commando raid on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla, including apologizing and paying compensation, Turkish President Abdullah Gul told the French daily Le Monde.

Gul added that if Israel made no move to heal the rift, then Turkey could even decide to break diplomatic relations.

In an interview published on Friday, Gul said the Israeli raid at the end of May, which killed nine activists, was a “crime” which might have been carried out by the likes of al-Qaeda rather than a sovereign state.

“It seems impossible to me to forgive or forget, unless there are some initiatives which could change the situation,” Gul was quoted as saying by Le Monde.

Asked what these might be, he said: “Firstly, to ask pardon and to establish some sort of compensation.” He added that he also wanted to see an independent inquiry into the botched raid and a discussion on lifting Israel’s blockade of Gaza.

Asked if Turkey might break relations with Israel if they did nothing, Gul said: “Anything is possible.”

Once a close ally of Israel, Turkey recalled its ambassador following the flotilla incident, cancelled joint military exercises and said trade and defense deals worth billions of dollars would be reduced to a minimum.

Separately, Philip Alston, the UN special rapporteur on extra-judicial executions, said any inquiry set up by Israel to investigate the Gaza flotilla incident “must be given a genuine capacity to find the facts” or it would not be credible.

To comply with international standards, he said, such an inquiry would have to be independent of the government and have full legal authority to obtain direct access to all relevant evidence, including the military personnel involved.

Israel has fended off a UN demand for an international investigation, instead accepting a US proposal for an Israeli inquiry with the participation of outside observers.

Ynetnews

June 14, 2010
Israel apologises for spoof video mocking Gaza flotilla

The Israeli government has apologised after its press office emailed to journalists a spoof video about the flotilla which tried to dock in Gaza.

The video shows people dressed as peace activists singing “we con the world” to the tune of We Are the World.

A spokesman said the video did not represent the Israeli government’s view.

The video contains real footage of the Israeli raid on the flotilla in which nine activists died.

‘Bluff’

In the clip, which parodies the video made for the 1985 charity song, the singers are dressed up in costumes representing the captain of the flotilla, western peace activists, and Arabs wearing keffiyeh scarves.

“There’s no people dying, so the best that we can do, is create the greatest bluff of all”, they sing.

“We are peaceful travellers, we’re waving our own knives,” the song goes.

The song builds to a chorus of “we con the world, we con the people. We’ll make them all believe the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) is Jack the Ripper.”

At one point the singer dressed as the flotilla captain sings “Ithbah al-Yahud” which means “slaughter the Jews” in Arabic.

The video is interspersed with footage from the Israeli commando raid on the Mavi Marmara, the Turkish lead vessel of the flotilla which tried to break an Israeli and Egyptian blockade on Gaza last week.

‘Funny’

Nine passengers on board were killed during the Israeli commando raid on the ship.

The ships were towed to the port of Ashdod and the activists deported.

Mark Regev, spokesman for the Israeli Prime Minister’s office, told the UK’s Guardian newspaper: “I called my kids in to watch it because I thought it was funny. It is what Israelis feel. But the government has nothing to do with it.”

The video was made by the Hebrew satirical website Latma.co.il, run by Jerusalem Post deputy editor Caroline Glick.

On her website she said the clip featured “the Turkish-Hamas ‘love boat’ captain, crew and passengers in a musical explanation of how they con the world.”

“We think this is an important Israeli contribution to the discussion of recent events,” Ms Glick wrote.

But there has also been condemnation of the spoof.

“The video is a repulsive attempt to use satire to make Israel’s case on Flotilla debacle,” Didi Remez of the Coteret blog said.

June 13, 2010
Erdogan and the Israel Card

by Steven J. Rosen
Wall Street Journal
June 10, 2010

The deaths of nine Turkish citizens in the Gaza flotilla incident would have brought a severe reaction under any circumstances. What is nonetheless striking in this incident is the unbridled anger and fiercely hostile reaction of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the Turkish public. Mr. Erdogan said Israel was guilty of “state terrorism” and a “bloody massacre.” His foreign minister, Ahmet Davutoglu, said “This attack is like 9/11 for Turkey,” comparing it to a premeditated act of aggression that took 2,900 lives.

Mr. Erdogan does not always display such reactions to allegations of human rights violations. Last year, he defended Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, indicted by the International Criminal Court for killing half a million Sudanese Christians and non-Arab Muslims. In March 2010, he denied that Turks ever killed Armenian civilians. He labeled a U.S. congressional resolution on the Armenian deaths “a comedy, a parody.” He said that the Turkish military garrison stationed in Cyprus since 1974 is “not an occupier” but “[ensures] the peace.” On tens of thousands of Kurds killed by Turkish security forces from 1984 to 1999, he says nothing.

Could it be that there is something more to Mr. Erdogan’s rage against Israel than just a spontaneous reaction to the loss of life here?

Turkish elections, 13 months away, hold the answer. Backing for Mr. Erdogan’s party has fallen to 29%, the lowest level since it won power in 2002 and far below the 47% it scored in July 2007. So Mr. Erdogan decided to play the Israel Card.

He tested this tactic in January 2009, in a confrontation with Israeli President Shimon Peres at Davos. Mr. Peres asked him in front of the cameras: “What would you do if you were to have in Istanbul every night a hundred rockets?” Mr. Erdogan shot back, “When it comes to killing you know very well how to kill.” Thousands of Turks applauded Mr. Erdogan’s performance, greeting him with a hero’s welcome and a sea of Turkish and Palestinian flags upon his return home to Ataturk Airport.

Mr. Erdogan’s anger at the Israeli blockade is even more popular among his countrymen. In fact, 61% of Turks surveyed in one poll did not find his rage sufficient. “The public is in such a state that they almost want war against Israel,” the pollster commented. “I think this is widespread in almost all levels of society.” Mr. Erdogan has become a hero in the Muslim world, where he is seen as the “new Nasser,” in the words of one Saudi writer.

The truth is that friendship toward Israel was always limited to the Turkish secular elites, including the military chiefs. Turkey is fertile ground for Mr. Erdogan’s demagoguery because many ordinary people are raised to dislike Israel and—dare it be said—Jews. In April 2010, the BBC World Service Poll found negative views of Israel among 77% of Turks.

Jews as a people fare no better than the Jewish state. In the 2009 Pew Global Attitudes survey, 73% of Turks rated their opinions of Jews as “negative.” Meanwhile, 68% of Turks rated their opinions of Christians as “negative.”

Turks don’t like the United States much more than they do Israel. The same BBC poll found negative views of the U.S. among 70% of Turks, one of only two countries where perceptions of the United States actually worsened after the election of Barack Obama (positives fell to 13% from 21%, and negatives increased to 70% from 63%).

Nor is it the case that anti-Americanism in Turkey is primarily a response to U.S. support for Israel. Many Turkish citizens view the U.S. as anti-Muslim and see the war on terror as an anti-Muslim crusade across the Middle East. Turks resent the rich “imperialist” superpower and believe that the U.S. invaded Iraq for oil.

Islamists and the Turkish left suspect that the U.S. and NATO propped up a succession of Turkish governments backed by the military. Others believe that the U.S. supports the Iraqi Kurds and may plan to create a Kurdish state in Iraq. And most remain convinced that members of the U.S. Congress who vote for Turkish genocide resolutions do so under the influence of Armenian-Americans, who are more numerous than Americans of Turkish origin.

Anti-American feelings in Turkey exist independently of anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism, but these three phenomena are mutually reinforcing and convergent. More disturbingly, parallels to these trends pervade much of the Muslim world. What the flotilla incident demonstrates is that igniting this tinderbox of hostility toward Israel, Jews and America does not take much of a spark.

Mr. Rosen is the director of the Washington Project of the Middle East Forum.

https://www.meforum.org/2668/erdogan-and-the-israel-card

June 10, 2010