ANKARA, JERUSALEM (Combined Sources)—After an United Nations report on last year’s Turkey’s flotilla incident in the Gaza Strip, relations between long-time allies Turkey and Israel became more tense as Turkey vowed military sanctions.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced on Tuesday that Turkey was “totally suspending” defense industry ties with Israel, after downgrading diplomatic relations with Israel, reported the Hurriyet Daily News.
In vowing more sanctions against Israel, Erdogan said “our ships will be seen more frequently in those waters,” referring to the Eastern Mediterranean, reported Hurriyet.
The UN report issued Friday found that Israel was within its rights to raid the Turkish flotilla in order to avoid arms shipments to Palestinians. The report, however, criticized Israel’s use of force was excessive. Israel continued to refuse to apologize to Turkey, which has angered Turkish officials.
Ankara has ordered the top Israel envoy and other high-level diplomats to leave Turkey by Wednesday.
Ella Ofek, the deputy to the Israeli ambassador to Turkey, was summoned to the Turkish Foreign Ministry on Sunday and verbally notified about Turkey’s decision. Ankara also informed Israel about the obligation in a written note on Monday, an official from the ministry told the Hürriyet Daily News.
Passengers traveling to Turkey from Israel were interrogated upon arrival at Istanbul airport, as were passengers traveling from Turkey to Istanbul were similarly questions at the Tel Aviv airport, reported the New York Times.
The United States expressed concern about tensions between Israel and Turkey and Ankara’s threats to slap additional sanctions on Israel, and is endeavoring to mend fences between the two parties, a U.S. State Department spokesperson said Tuesday.
While praising the UN report on the flotilla incident, State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said that U.S. Secretary of State Clinton and the U.S. Ambassador in Ankara recently met at length with Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu to try to diffuse the tensions, reported the Haaretz newspaper..
“We are concerned”, said Nuland. “We have over many months tried to work with our ally Turkey and our ally Israel to strengthen and improve their bilateral relationship. We still believe that getting back to a good partnership between them is in each of their interests, and we will continue to work for that goal with both of them.”
“There are freedom of navigation issues for both Turkey and for Israel, but we want to avoid future confrontations and we want both of these strong allies of the United States to get back to a place where they have a good working relationship with each other”.
In his remarks, Erdoğan told reporters that he may visit Gaza and would decide whether to do so after talks with Egypt. Erdoğan is planning to visit Cairo later this month.
Turkey should’ve died in Sevre treaty. After all this years of feeding and pampering this country, now the same countries that cease that treaty are being threated by Turkey. An unethical and dangereous contry for all humankind. This country is unpredictable and should be blockade by Europe and USA for the sake of security.
In the past 10 year we have heard the same news again and again about ” Turkey is “totally suspending” defense industry ties with Israel, Turkey gives Israel an ultimatum , Turkey is challenging Israel and so on “- Erdogan knows how to fool his voters and “Islamic?Arabic world” while behind doors every things looks oki with Israel and the military is cooperation is going on !
more turkish bolony
Every sane Israeli knows Turks are best friends and worst enemies. Israel can’t afford to have Turkey as an enemy. With Iran already capable of targeting every square inch of Israel from thousands of miles away, who wants to have Europe’s largest standing army against themselves?
Turkey and Israel were allies years way before Netenyahu-Lieberman showed up, and they will still be allies long after current mentally challenged Israeli cabinet is gone.
Iran is not targeting anybody. Iranians have not attacked any other country for a couple of thousand years, unlike Turks.
Turkey and Israel were allies only because Kemalist Turkey was buddy-buddies with the West: a useful tool against USSR and Radical Islam.
Now that the Secular Kemalist experiment has ended in failure, and Turkey is reverting to its Ottoman Islamist past – the Judeo-Christian West and Israel will turn on Islamist Turkey.
AK Party and Erdogan won 50% of the Turk vote in an open and fair election.
Kemalist Military brass either resigned en mass or are being charged and removed into obscurity.
There is no going back to Secularism. Great majority of Turks are reverting to their deep religious Islamist roots.
And Europe’s largest standing Army is no match for Israel. IAF will sweep the skies of Turk Air Force, and then it will be a turkey shoot (as in bird hunting). You Turks really believe USA will allow you or any other Islamic country to threaten the existence of Jews in Israel ?
so if Iran attacks Israel Turks going to defend the Jewish state ?? wow how funny or do you think the Jews
so naive to depend on Turks ?? : )) yes Turks are good in convincing the west by similar nice words as soft pillow ( yumusak yastik )under the head of world leaders for decades,, and not doing anything ,,i think that Turkish diplomacy wont work any more and please do not tell us about Turks ,Turkey ,or Turkish politic ,no one in this world knows you better then us the Armenians ,,, after all never trust or depend on Turks !!,general Antranik Ozanian .
Guys…
Jew has one God.
Chirstianity has one God.
Islam has one God.
All above beleives there is only one creator.
Buttt….
All three fights each other because of God.
How funny this. Isn’t it.
Turkey is not accusing Israel because of God.
She says compansate those losses. And free gazza. And Apoligize what you have done.