The regional allies’ bilateral ties became strained after Israel’s televised rebuke of Çelikkol. When Israel fell short of apologizing for the diplomatic blunder, President Abdullah Gül said on Wednesday that Israel had until midnight to rectify the unprecedented example of diplomatic rudeness. “If the problem is not resolved by tonight, our ambassador will take the first flight tomorrow [Thursday] to return home for further consultations,” Gül said. Israel sent a formal letter of apology to Çelikkol on Thursday, preventing the diplomatic crisis from growing larger. Analysts who examined the reasons behind Israel’s frustration with Turkey and its willingness to insult the country say it mainly stems from Israel’s disturbance related to Turkey’s foreign policy moves in the region as Turkey’s budding relations with its neighbors isolate Israel and hurt its interests.The reason for Israel’s anger at Turkey, according to Bugün’s Nuh Gönültaş, stems from Turkey’s developing relations with Arab countries in the Middle East and removing visa requirements with several of them as such developments further isolate Israel in the region. “In order for Israel have an impact in the region, Turkey has to have hostile relations with its neighbors, particularly with its Arab ones. They have ensured this for many years with the support of the Turkish Foreign Ministry. They described Turkey as country that was surrounded by enemies. Things have changed now. Turkey has managed to turn the past animosity with its neighbors into friendship and Turkey has started to shine like the sun in the eyes of these countries,” explains Gönültaş.
Yeni Şafak’s Akif Beki also links Israel’s frustration with Turkey and its attempt to insult Turkey by rebuking its ambassador with the fact that Turkey’s foreign policy moves in the Middle East and its improving relations with Arab countries threaten Israel’s uniqueness. “There is also an unseen overlapping between the United States’ Middle East policies and Turkey’s developing relations in the region. It is Israel which feels the new balance and is becoming ill-tempered,” he suggests.
Radikal’s Hasan Celal Güzel thinks Israel’s aggressive attitudes cannot solely be explained by its paranoia or the claustrophobia it feels due to its isolation in the region. Another reason behind Israel’s reckless behavior is Zionism, the quest of Jews to dominate the world.
According to Milliyet’s Taha Akyol, Israel’s apology is not only a diplomatic success for Turkey, but it is also an indication of the defective plans of the hardliners who dominate the Israeli government.
“This ugly design set up by Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon for the Turkish ambassador was encouraged by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s chauvinist attitudes and Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman is certainly the main architect of this design,” says Akyol.
