[TURKISH DIPLOMACY IN 2009] Turkey-Israel ties see unprecedented tension in 2009

The same date can also be read as the breaking point in bilateral relations between Israel and Turkey, since the enduring tragedy in Gaza has so far failed to repair the damage of trust by the Turkish side toward Israel.

Israel has extensive defense ties with Turkey, a NATO member and one of the few Muslim nations to have built an alliance with the Jewish state. Yet tension prevails in the ties between Israel and Turkey, particularly since Ankara’s harsh criticism of Israel’s three-week offensive.

It was Jan. 29 when Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan first criticized Israel’s actions, saying it should be barred from the United Nations. He walked out of a World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting in Davos, Switzerland, after a heated exchange with Israeli President Shimon Peres, telling him, “When it comes to killing, you know very well how to kill.”

Ankara was particularly angered that the attacks came only days after a visit to the Turkish capital by then-Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to discuss peace in the Middle East. At a five-and-a-half-hour-long meeting with Olmert four days before the Gaza operation began, Erdoğan had focused on Turkish-mediated talks between Syria and Israel.

Soon after the start of the Gaza offensive, Syria said it had suspended talks with Israel and then-Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan said it was not possible to continue with peace efforts on the Israeli-Syrian track while war raged on along the Israeli-Palestinian track.

In October, tensions escalated, with Israel voicing its disappointment through the media over Turkey’s decision to change a joint international military exercise which would have included Israel into a national military exercise.

An exchange of remarks between Israeli and Turkish officials concerning Israel’s exclusion from the “Anatolian Eagle” exercises was followed within days by Israeli protests over a Turkish television series about Palestinians, escalating the tension between the two countries. Israel summoned a Turkish diplomat to protest the “state-sponsored incitement” by state-owned TRT television’s “Ayrılık” (Separation) series, in which actors playing Israeli soldiers and Palestinians fight in street battles in Jerusalem.

Still, remarks by Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu in October quite clearly showed Ankara’s anger at Israel over the humanitarian tragedy in Gaza. The absence of any substantial move by Israel to end the months-long humanitarian tragedy in Gaza as well as Israel’s unwillingness to revive peace efforts in the Middle East were a barrier to engaging in the usual military cooperation with Israel, Davutoğlu said at the time.

“Ending the humanitarian tragedy in Gaza, reviving peace efforts -- both on the Palestinian and Israeli-Syrian tracks -- and most importantly reinstating a prevailing spirit of peace in the region ... this is what we want,” he said, setting Turkey’s conditions for turning a new page in relations with Israel.

In the meantime, the national and international media focused on the fact that Erdoğan paid an official visit to Tehran, Israel’s arch foe, only two weeks after Turkey barred Israel from the NATO exercise, using this fact as a basis for claims of a shift in Turkey’s foreign policy orientation.

In late November, Israeli Industry, Trade and Labor Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer commenced the highest-level visit between Turkey and Israel since relations between the two countries became strained.

Around the same time, contradictory messages concerning Israel’s willingness to propose that Turkey resume its role of mediator in peace talks between Israel and Syria in exchange for a return to more cordial relations between Israel and Turkey began to pour in.

In early December, delivering speeches at Washington think tanks while in town for an official meeting with US President Barack Obama, Erdoğan continued his harsh criticism of Israel and also said, “Israel has to end domestic opinion differences so that problems between Israel and Turkey can also be overcome.” He added there were conflicting messages from the coalition partners on Turkey’s possible mediation of talks between Israel and Syria.

On Dec. 18, the United Nations Climate Change Conference held in Copenhagen was venue for a meeting between Turkish President Abdullah Gül and Israeli President Shimon Peres, with the latter renewing his invitation to Gül for a visit to Israel.

Last week, in response to reporters’ questions, Gül recalled that he had already accepted the invitation. Yet, he noted that the visit should be paid at a time that would be useful and that such ground could be laid via visits at the ministerial level. This led to assumptions that Davutoğlu will pay a visit to Israel. The next day, Davutoğlu dismissed those reports, reiterating his harsh criticism of Israeli inaction on the ongoing humanitarian tragedy in Gaza.

Israel’s Gaza offensive last winter “killed the peace perspective,” he said, adding, “If the peace perspective is rebuilt, then we will not avoid contact.” Thus, ambiguity surrounding the future of bilateral relations between Israel and Turkey is still in place while entering 2010, with the latter looking forward to any sign of good-will by the Israeli side concerning the situation in Gaza.