"Turkey loosens ties with Israel over ship raid; Expels envoy, halts military cooperation" September 03, 2011|By Joel Greenberg, Washington Post
JERUSALEM - Turkey said yesterday that it was expelling the Israeli ambassador and suspending military agreements with Israel, signaling a deepening rift between the former strategic allies in the aftermath of last year’s deadly Israeli raid on a Turkish ship leading an aid flotilla to Gaza.
The crisis with Turkey comes as Israel faces strained relations with another longtime regional ally, Egypt, over a deadly border incident last month, and it raises the prospect of Israel’s increasing isolation in the region at a time of tumultuous change....
Israel has rejected a Turkish demand for an apology and payment of compensation to families of the dead despite heavy pressure from Washington, which is concerned about the discord between two of its key allies in the Middle East....
Israel and Turkey had developed extensive military ties for more than a decade, giving Israel a crucial alliance with a Muslim nation that eased its isolation in the largely Arab Middle East. Turkey, for its part, gained access to advanced Israeli military technology.
Israel supplied hundreds of millions of dollars of military hardware to Turkey, including surface-to-air missiles and drones, and has upgraded Turkish tanks and fighter jets.
The Israeli air force trained in Turkish airspace, and the two countries conducted joint naval exercises....
“The time has come for Israel to pay for its stance that sees it above international laws and disregards human conscience,’’ Ahmet Davutoglu, Turkey’s foreign minister, said, according to the Associated Press. “As long as the Israeli government does not take the necessary steps, there will be no turning back.’’
In response, Israel reiterated its refusal to apologize, but pledged to work to mend ties....
“As recommended in the report, Israel again expresses its regret for the loss of life, but will not apologize for the acts of its soldiers in self-defense,’’ an official statement said. “Israel, like any other country, has the legitimate right to protect its citizens and soldiers.’’
That has never been good enough from the Japanese for Pearl Harbor so pfffft!
You need to be protected from humanitarian aid going to a suffering people?
“Israel recognizes the importance of the historic ties, past and present, between the Turkish and Jewish peoples,’’ the statement added.
Related: Mustafa Kemal Ataturk was Jewish
Also see: 2002 Iraqi Intel Reported Wahhabis Are of Jewish Origin
And the Israeli's are Khazar converts from Central Asia and Eastern Europe.
“The State of Israel hopes that a way will be found to overcome the disagreement and will continue to work toward that end.’’
The UN report said that Israel should express regret over the killings and offer compensation payments, and it urged Turkey and Israel to resume full diplomatic relations.
Seems like an important alliance to the globe-kickers. Plan beginning to fall apart?
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Related: U.N Whitewashes War Crime
"Turkey prepares legal challenge to Gaza blockade; Will seek ruling from world court on Israeli tactic" September 04, 2011|By Suzan Fraser, Associated Press
ANKARA, Turkey - Turkey is preparing to challenge Israel’s blockade on Gaza at the International Court of Justice, the foreign minister said yesterday, ratcheting up tensions between the once-close allies.
Ahmet Davutoglu’s comments came a day after Turkey expelled the Israel’s ambassador and severed military ties with the country, angered over its refusal to apologize for last year’s deadly raid on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla that killed nine pro-Palestinian activists.
In an interview with Turkey’s state-run TRT television, Davutoglu dismissed a United Nations report into the raid that said Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza was a legal security measure. Davutoglu said the report was not endorsed by the UN and was therefore not binding.
That is so offensive to me.
“What is binding is the International Court of Justice,’’ Davutoglu said. “This is what we are saying: let the International Court of Justice decide.’’
“We are starting the necessary legal procedures this coming week,’’ he said.
But Israel’s deputy foreign minister, Danny Ayalon, said his country has nothing to apologize for and that it has done all it could to avoid a crisis with Turkey. He said the Turks apparently intended to raise tensions with Israel for its own reasons.
That's the problem right there, and talk about a pot hollering kettle.
“The problem here is on the Turkish side… . They were not ready for a compromise and kept raising the threshold,’’ Ayalon said on Israeli TV yesterday. “I think we need to say to the Turks: as far as we are concerned, this saga is behind us. Now we need to cooperate. Lack of cooperation harms not only us, but Turkey as well.’’
The UN report, released Friday, was prepared by former New Zealand prime minister Geoffrey Palmer and former Colombian president Alvaro Uribe and presented to Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.
Davutoglu said the report contradicted an earlier one on the flotilla incident, which found that Israeli forces violated international law when they raided the flotilla. That report was prepared in September by three investigators appointed by the UN’s top human rights body.
He also warned Israel that it risks alienation among Arab nations by resisting an apology.
“If Israel persists with its current position, the Arab spring will give rise to a strong Israel opposition as well as the debate on the authoritarian regimes,’’ Davutoglu said....
Yesterday, the UN’s Ban urged Turkey and Israel to mend ties for the good of the Middle East peace process. “I sincerely hope that Israel and Turkey will improve their relationship,’’ Ban said during a visit to Australia....
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"Turkey may add Israel sanctions; Former allies sparring over flotilla deaths" by Aron Heller and Selcan Hacaoglu, Associated Press / September 7, 2011
ANKARA, Turkey - Turkey’s prime minister said yesterday that his nation’s navy will step up its surveillance of the eastern Mediterranean Sea - a move that could potentially lead to confrontation with Israel - and warned of more sanctions against Israel as relations between the former allies deteriorated further.
There is also talk they will escort the next flotilla of aid ships.
Turkey has already suspended its vast military ties with Israel, said it is expelling top Israeli diplomats, and pledged to lobby other nations in support of the Palestinians’ statehood bid after Israel refused to apologize for last year’s raid on a Gaza-bound flotilla that killed nine Turkish pro-Palestinian activists.
One was also American.
The sudden measures mark a stunning reversal for the two nations, who were once each other’s top military trading partners and used to regularly train together on each other’s soil.
Israel has expressed regret for the loss of lives aboard the flotilla and said yesterday that it was time for the two countries to restore their former close ties.
“Israel and Turkey are the two strongest nations in the Middle East and in many respects, the most important,’’ Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said before Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s latest threats.
“We have disputes, and even in the case of disputes, it’s very important that the two sides use their brains and not act from the gut. It would be best for all involved and in the interest of regional stability to patch things up,’’ Barak said....
Turkey has not imposed a trade embargo on Israel but suspended ongoing defense projects and purchases from Israeli defense firms....
It is unclear what impact the Turkish decision to scale back economic ties will be. Israeli defense officials said there have not been any new agreements since 2008, just before relations began to deteriorate.
The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were discussing a sensitive diplomatic matter, said Israel was committed to the existing deals and would continue to provide military gear to Turkey despite the latest crisis.
At its height in the late 1990s, Israel exported to Turkey billions of dollars worth of tanks, unmanned aircraft, and military technology. Turkey is also a top business partner and tourist destination for Israelis.
Israeli officials noted paradoxically that despite the tension in recent years, 2011 has been a record year thus far in overall trade.
Relations began deteriorating as a result of Israel’s campaign against Gaza rocket launchers in early 2009, in which about 1,400 Palestinians were killed, and worsened dramatically after the May 2010 raid on the Mavi Marmara vessel.
Operation Cast Lead cast into the MSM memory hole.
What the web cut:
Turkey's latest moves were prompted after it was disappointed by the U.N. report's failure to criticize Israel more strongly and force it to apologize.
Erdogan did not detail what the next round of sanctions against Israel would include. But he vowed to ensure "freedom of navigation" in the eastern Mediterranean by using Turkey's naval bases in the ports of Iskenderun and Aksaz to "keep the area under constant surveillance."
"Of course, our ships will show themselves quite often from now on. We will see it very often," Erdogan said.
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Update: Turkey eyes new pact with Egypt
To war!!!
