ISRAELI LEADERS are engaged in a damage-limitation exercise following Turkey’s decision to exclude Israel from a joint airforce exercise in protest at Israeli actions during the Gaza war.
The move marks a new low in the traditionally strong bilateral ties between Israel and its most friendly ally in the Muslim world.
The drill, which was to have taken place this week in Anatolia with a number of Nato states, was cancelled after the US and Italy pulled out following Ankara’s decision to bar Israel.
Israeli defence minister Ehud Barak said that Turkey’s strategic relations with Israel had existed for decades. “Despite the ups and downs, Turkey continues to be a major player in our region,” Mr Barak said, adding that there was “no need for harsh words” to be directed against Ankara.
Emergency meetings were convened at the prime minister’s office and the foreign and defence ministries to discuss the crisis, with officials stressing that Israel could not afford to lose Turkey as a regional ally.
One senior official was quoted anonymously by the Israeli YNET website as saying the relationship was vital for both states.
“Ultimately, Israel must not give up on the connection with Turkey. This space cannot be filled from Israel’s perspective. Turkey also knows that Israel is important to them in their process of acceptance within the West, including membership in the European Union,” the official said.
Ankara initially denied that the ban on Israeli participation was political, but Turkish foreign minister Ahmet Davutoglu yesterday confirmed it was to protest at Israeli actions in Gaza. Speaking to CNN, Mr Davutoglu said: “We hope that the situation in Gaza will be improved, and that will create a new atmosphere in Turkish-Israeli relations as well.”
Israel has placed the utmost importance on friendly ties with Turkey ever since the 1950s, when prime minister David Ben-Gurion developed a policy of strengthening relations with non-Arab states on the periphery of the region. Bilateral ties burgeoned in the 1990s, with both states concerned over Iranian, Syrian and Iraqi regional aspirations.
Military co-operation flourished, with Israel selling hundreds of millions of euro worth of military equipment to Ankara. Joint military drills were also common and Israeli jets used Turkish airspace for exercises. Turkey also acted as a mediator in contacts aimed at reviving direct peace talks between Israel and Syria.
But relations, which cooled after Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Islamic government came to power in 2003, deteriorated rapidly following Israel’s three-week invasion of Gaza last December.
Mr Erdogan accused Israel of committing war crimes, and he walked off the stage during a bitter televised confrontation with Israeli president Shimon Peres at Davos in January. That incident prompted many Israelis to cancel holidays to Turkey, which until this year had been the top vacation destination for Israeli families.
Jerusalem is also upset over Turkey’s improving ties with Iran, considered by Israel as the number one threat to the Jewish state.
The Turkish leader has called for sanctions against Iran to be lifted, urging the international community instead to focus on Israel’s nuclear capabilities.
It remains to be seen if the latest tension is a temporary phenomenon or marks the beginning of the end of warm bilateral ties.
Israel’s deputy foreign minister, Danny Ayalon, played down the crisis. “Here is a Muslim country that is both a democracy and tolerant, living in good relations with Israel because it is in the interest of both countries to do so,” he said, describing Turkey as “the antithesis to Iran”.