The bilateral relationship between Turkey and Israel got a further dip when Turkey on September 2 expelled Israel’s envoy and froze military co-operation with Israel after a UN report on the deaths of nine Turks in an Israeli raid on a Gaza-bound humanitarian aid convoy failed to trigger an apology from Israel.
The relationship between the two has been sour for long especially since January 29, 2009 when Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan stormed out a televised debate hosted by the World Economic Forum in Davoswith then Israeli President Shimon Peres after the moderator had refused to allow him to rebut Peres’ justification about Israel’s war on the Gaza Strip.
Before storming out, Erdogan told Peres: “You are killing people.” Erdogan’s bold move was not only welcomed by Hamas and Turkish people back home but supported by Britain’s former Prime Minister Tony Blair. Speaking to Al Jazeera at the Swiss resort, Blair, the Middle East envoy for the quartet of the European Union, Russia, the United Nations and the United States, said: “Given what’s happened in Gaza it would be surprising if people didn’t feel really strongly about it. Prime Minister Erdogan, I know, because I spoke to him earlier in the day, feels passionately and really sad about what has happened to the people of Gaza. And it’s inevitable that you get this kind of incident.”
Ankara’s last week’s move is also not less bold and resolute. Turkey’s Foreign Minister AhmetDavutoglu told reporters all diplomatic staff above the level of second secretary would be sent home by September 7 and Turkey would freeze military pacts with its erstwhile ally. Ankara also said it would take legal actions and ‘pursue the matter resolutely’ to prosecute all Israelis involved in the May 2010 raid.
Turkey was stung by Israel’s blunt refusal to make a formal apology and pay compensation to families of the dead after the September 1 UN report said Israel had used unreasonable force in its raid on the Gaza-bound ship. Immediately after the attack on the humanitarian aid convoy, Turkey withdrew its ambassador to Israel, suspended joint military exercises and barred Israeli military aircraft from Turkish air space. Now Turkey’s reaction to the UN report deepened the rift.
In the backdrop of the ongoing revolutions in several Arab countries, Erdogan’s stand on the Palestinian issue has held Turkey in good stead among Arabs agitating for greater democracy. Turkey’s move against Israel is an eye-opener for rulers of Arab States as well as other countries including India that espouse justice and world peace to follow suit.