Category: Israel

Kerry urges Turkey, Israel to normalize relations

Kerry urges Turkey, Israel to normalize relations

English.news.cn 2013-04-07 19:09:49

• John Kerry on Sunday urged Turkish leaders to speedily restore full diplomatic relations with Israel.

• Kerry called on the two countries to send back their ambassadors to each other as soon as possible.

• Obama brokered reconciliation between Turkey and Israel during his trip to the region last month.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (L) attends a joint press conference with Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu after arriving at Istanbul, Turkey, April 7, 2013, as a part of his third trip to the Middle East in one month. Kerry will meet with Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan Sunday afternoon. (Xinhua/Lu Zhe)

ISTANBUL, April 7 (Xinhua) — Visiting U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Sunday urged here Turkish leaders to speedily restore full diplomatic relations with Israel, saying Washington sees both countries as anchor of stability in the Middle East.

The top U.S. diplomat made the remarks at a press conference shortly after his talks with Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu in the coastal city of Istanbul, the first leg of his third trip to the Middle East in one month.

Kerry called on the two countries, both important U.S. allies, to send back their ambassadors to each other as soon as possible, adding the Turkish-Israeli cooperation will help tackle challenges confronting the region.

John Kerry headed to the Middle East on Saturday in a fresh bid to unlock long-stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.

“We would like to see the relationship, which is important for the Middle East region, for the Israel-Palestine peace process,” Kerry said at the conference.

He added that Turkey can be a key contributor to future development of the West Bank and Gaza.

U.S. President Barack Obama brokered reconciliation between Turkey and Israel during his trip to the region last month. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu offered an apology to Turkey after Obama’s visit for the 2010 raid on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla.

The raid, killing eight Turks and one Turkish American, seriously strained ties between the two close regional allies to the United States.

On this issue, Davutoglu said compensation for flotilla deaths and lift of the embargo against Gaza are Turkey’s demand for Israel in the next stage.

“Victims in this incident have to be compensated… An offense was done and it has to be taken to accountability,” Davutoglu said, setting conditions for normalizing ties with Israel.

The Turkish foreign minister also urged improving the living standards of people in Gaza. “Turkey wants to see a two-state solution between Israel and Palestine based on pre-1967 lines, which will aims to establish peaceful order in the Middle East.”

Speaking of Iran’s nuclear program, Kerry said the international community would continue talks with Iran to resolve the decade-old issue but stressed the process could not continue for ever.

“Diplomacy is a painful task and a task for the patient,” he said, in reference to the talks between Iran and the world powers in Kazakhstan that ended on Saturday after failing to break a deadlock.

On the anti-terrorism front, Kerry welcomed the recent disarmament by the Kurdish Workers’ Party in Turkey and praised Turkish government’s efforts to end the three-decade old conflict.

He added that difficult steps lay ahead and lasting peace will improve lives of all citizens.

On the Syrian issue, both Kerry and Davutoglu reiterated their stance that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad must go. They also agreed that a new round of “Friends of Syria” meeting should be held as soon as possible.

Later on Sunday, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan will meet with Kerry in Istanbul.

The U.S. diplomat will also visit Israel, Britain, South Korea, China and Japan, where talks will focus on North Korea’s nuclear program.

Related:

News Analysis: Rapprochement reveals alignment between Turkey, Israel in regional politics

ANKARA, March 23 (Xinhua) — The U.S.-brokered normalization of ties between Turkey and Israel following the latter’s belated apology for a naval raid three years ago means a greater alignment of both countries’ goals in the Mideast against the backdrop of fast-paced developments in the region.

Turkey severed diplomatic and security ties with Israel after eight Turks and a Turkish American aboard a Gaza-bound aid flotilla were killed in May 2010 during a violent confrontation with Israeli commandos. Full story

Israel, Turkey to restore relations after Netanyahu apologizes for Gaza flotilla deaths

JERUSALEM, March 22 (Xinhua) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday phoned his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and apologized for an Israeli naval raid three years ago in which nine Turkish nationals were killed, with the two leaders agreeing to normalize bilateral relations, Netanyahu’s office said.

The dramatic announcement came shortly after U.S. President Barack Obama departed Israel at the end of a three-day visit.

via Kerry urges Turkey, Israel to normalize relations – Xinhua | English.news.cn.

April 8, 2013
Kerry to press Turkey on Israel ties, Syrian border, Iraq

REUTERS/Paul J. Richards/Pool

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry talks to reporters after finding out that the aircraft had a mechanical failure before take off, at the Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland April 6, 2013.

By Arshad Mohammed, Reuters

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will press Turkey on Sunday to quickly normalize relations with Israel, keep its border with Syria open to refugees and improve ties with Iraq, a senior U.S. official said.

Kerry arrived in Istanbul some two weeks after U.S. President Barack Obama brokered a rapprochement between Turkey and Israel, whose relations were shattered by the killing of nine Turkish citizens in a 2010 Israeli naval raid on a Gaza-bound flotilla.

The rapprochement could help regional coordination to contain spillover from the Syrian civil war and ease Israel’s diplomatic isolation in the Middle East as it faces challenges posed by Iran’s nuclear program.

Despite Obama’s having pulled off a diplomatic coup on March 22 – a three-way telephone call with the Israeli and Turkish prime ministers, who had not spoken since 2011 – Washington has some concerns that Turkey might be backtracking on the deal.

Israel bowed to a long-standing demand by Ankara, once its close strategic partner, to apologize formally for the deaths aboard the Turkish vessel Mavi Marmara. It was boarded by Israeli marines who had intercepted a flotilla challenging Israel’s naval blockade of the Palestinian-run Gaza Strip.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said he had agreed to conclude an agreement on compensation and that he and Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan agreed to normalize ties, including returning their ambassadors to their posts.

A senior U.S. official told reporters traveling with Kerry that he “will encourage Turkey to expeditiously implement its agreement with Israel and fully normalize their relationship to allow for deeper cooperation between the two countries.”

While the official denied the United States was worried the Turkish government might be backing away from the deal, another U.S. official earlier this week said Washington was concerned.

Kerry will also raise Syria and Iraq during his talks on Sunday with Erdogan and Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu in Istanbul, his first stop on a 10-day trip to the Middle East, Europe and Asia.

One of the underlying motivations for the Israeli-Turkish rapprochement, at least on the Israeli side, has been a desire to secure allies in the region as the Syrian civil war churns into its third year.

Kerry’s message in Istanbul will include “reiterating the importance of keeping the borders open to Syrians fleeing from violence,” the senior U.S. official told reporters with Kerry.

The official said this was a reference to reports, which Turkey denied on March 28, that it had rounded up and deported hundreds of Syrian refugees following unrest at a border camp.

Witnesses said hundreds of Syrians were bussed to the border after clashes in which refugees in the Suleymansah camp, near the Turkish town of Akcakale, threw rocks at military police, who fired teargas and water cannon.

Turkey’s foreign ministry said 130 people, identified as being “involved in the provocations,” crossed back into Syria voluntarily, either because they did not want to face judicial proceedings or because of repercussions from other refugees.

The incident highlighted the strain that the exodus from Syria’s civil war is placing on neighboring states.

Since the revolt in Syria began two years ago, more than 1.2 million Syrians fleeing violence and persecution have registered as refugees or await processing in neighboring countries and North Africa, according to U.N. figures.

They include 261,635 in Turkey, mostly staying in 17 camps, many of them teeming.

Kerry also plans to nudge Turkey to improve ties with Iraq, which is troubled by efforts by its autonomous Kurdistan region, where ethnic Kurds have administered their affairs since 1991, to sell energy to Turkey.

The Iraqi central government argues that this would deprive it of oil revenues that belong to Iraq as a whole.

via Kerry to press Turkey on Israel ties, Syrian border, Iraq – World News.

April 8, 2013
Iran taking lessons from Turkey in combating Israel

Kerry arrives in an Ankara eager for role in Mideast diplomatic process; Iranian ambassador says Turkey’s constant resistance proves “we can take what we want to take from Israel.”

US Secretary of State John Kerry, February 8, 2013. Photo: REUTERS/Jason Reed

When apologizing last month for operational errors that might have led to the loss of life on the Mavi Marmara flotilla, Israel realized this would be perceived by some in the region as weakness, but decided a wider array of factors had to be weighed in, a government source said Saturday.

The source was responding to a comment carried by the Turkish Anadolu news agency on Saturday by Alireza Bikedeli, Iran’s ambassador to Ankara, saying that “in the past three years, Turkey, with its constant resistance, showed us we can take what we want to take from Israel.” The source said that in government meetings over the last few years dealing with whether to apologize to Turkey for the May 2010 incident, the question of how an apology would be perceived in the region was always taken into consideration.

But, the official said, there was “a wide array” of other factors to think about as well.

“If the decision leads to a thawing of relations with Turkey, then the Iranians won’t be happy,” the official added.

Meanwhile, US Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Turkey Saturday night on the first stop of a six-country tour that will take him to Jerusalem and Ramallah on Sunday through Tuesday.

The Turkish media said that the visit to Istanbul, Kerry’s second visit to Turkey in two months, is coming amid expectations he will offer Turkey a role in the Middle East diplomatic process.

State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said at a press briefing last week that Kerry would meet Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and discuss the “complex issues surrounding Middle East peace.”

In the past, she said, they have discussed Fatah-Hamas reconciliation, “and our insistence that Quartet principles need to be abided by if this is going to serve the cause of peace.”

While not directly referring to Erdogan’s announced intention to visit the Gaza Strip this month, Nuland said that in the past the US has urged senior Turkish officials that any contact with Hamas be “in service to the greater issue of stability and peace, and that the fundamental underlying tenets of the Quartet principles be reiterated as the necessary precondition.” The Quartet principles are that Hamas recognize Israel, forswear terrorism and accept previous Israeli-Palestinian agreements.

The prospect of Erdogan indeed going ahead with a trip to Gaza, which he has threatened to do a number of times in the past, seemed to fade somewhat with the announcement that he will be meeting US President Barack Obama in the White House on May 16. The US has in the past urged Erdogan to refrain from making that trip, arguing it would undercut Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and strengthen Hamas.

Asked whether Turkey could play a role in the Israeli-Palestinian diplomatic process, something Ankara has expressed an interest in doing, Nuland said Turkey certainly “has significant influence with the Palestinians. It has the ability to encourage Palestinians of all stripes to accept Quartet principles and move forward on that basis.”

One Israeli official said that Turkey is one of any number of international actors – the EU, the French, British, Russians and the UN – which would like to have a larger role in the diplomatic process. “We are ready for countries to play a positive role in the peace process, the official said, adding that to do so these countries “have to have the confidence of both sides.”

via Iran taking lessons from Turkey in combating Israel | JPost | Israel News.

April 7, 2013
Israel defense systems firms court Turkish military

Following ‘Mavi Maramara’ apology, Israeli defense firms seek to resume cooperation with Turkish military industry.

Turkish F-4 fighter jets Photo: REUTERS/Stringer Turkey

Following Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s apology to his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan over the 2010 Mavi Marmara incident, Israeli defense systems manufacturers have been trying to renew their lucrative cooperation with the Turkey military.

These contacts had yielded hundreds of millions of dollars in procurement and upgrade contracts in the years before relations collapsed.

US journal Defense News quoted an official at a major Israeli defense company, who expressed the hope for the renewal of defense cooperation.

“We don’t expect an immediate return to the good old days. But we see no reason why cooperation in key defense systems should not resume in line with normalization of political relations. We expect the Turks to understand that their military and local industry largely benefited from Israeli-related programs, and they still can,” the official said.

“Trading flourished during the crisis in bilateral relations. If non-defense trade flourished in bad times, why shouldn’t defense trade normalize in better times?” he added.

Trade between Israel and Turkey has risen 30% since 2010 despite the crisis caused by the Gaza flotilla deaths, and despite a small fall in 2012. During the decade before the incident, Turkey was an important export market for Israeli defense companies.

Israel Military Industries Ltd. (IMI) upgraded 170 Turkish M60A1 tanks, bringing them to a level approaching the Merkava Mark III in a nearly $1 billion deal.

Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) sold the Turkish Air Force advanced UAVs and ground control stations. IAI also upgraded a batch of 54 Turkish F-4 fighter jets.

According to Defense News, “Signs of a political and subsequently defense-related thaw came early this year, when Israel’s Israel Aerospace Industries Ltd. (IAI) unit Elta supplied Turkey with military equipment in the first such deal since 2010. Elta delivered $100 million worth of electronic equipment for four airborne early warning and control aircraft Boeing is building for the Turkish Air Force.”

Nevertheless, Turkish officials have greeted the ostensible rapprochement cautiously.

“The apology is a first step for the normalization of political ties, but it is too premature to think this will immediately pave the way for a return of Israeli contenders to the Turkish market,” a senior Turkish procurement official told Defense News. “We must first wait and see if the detente will lead to full normalization.”

“We need a stable period of confidence-building measures before we seriously sit down and discuss projects with Israeli suppliers. If normalization happens, we will view Israeli companies like any other foreign company and think that business is business. At the moment, there is too much political contamination in the air,” he added.

A board member of a Turkish state-owned defense company said, “A direct or indirect nod from Erdogan’s office would signal a gradual return to normalcy in defense business with Israeli companies. But for that to happen, the thaw must proceed and lead to full restoration of diplomatic ties.”

Turkish analyst Ozgur Unluhisarcikli, director of the German Marshall Fund’s told Defense News it would be wrong if one had too high expectations for the Turkish-Israeli reconciliation.

“Political realities have pushed both countries toward normalizing relations, toward cooperation. But the two are unlikely to return to their strategic relationship in the foreseeable future. Unlike in the 1990s, they will not become close allies again,” he said.

via Israel defense systems firms court Turkish military | JPost | Israel News.

April 6, 2013
Iraqi goods travel to Turkey via Israel

Iraqi goods travel to Turkey via Israel

Following secret talks due to civil war in Syria, Jordan River Crossing and Haifa Port used to transport merchandise between Iraq, Jordan, Turkey and other countries

Gad Lior

Published: 04.05.13, 13:34 / Israel Business

Dozens of trucks carrying goods from Iraq, Jordan and Turkey have been travelling on Israel’s roads on a daily basis recently, following secret talks between Israeli and Turkish officials and senior officials from neighboring Arab countries.

Yedioth Ahronoth has learned that following the intensification of battles in Syria and the near collapse of the country’s regime, and after merchandise transported by convoys from Turkey to Iraq and Jordan, and vice versa, was robbed – the Jordan River Crossing (near Beit She’an) and the Haifa and Ashdod Ports have become an alternative for the transport of goods.

Every day, trucks arrive from Jordan and Iraq at the Jordan River Crossing, where the goods they are carrying are loaded onto Israeli trucks, which usually take them to the Haifa Port. From the port they are transported by sea to Turkey and other countries, where trucks from Iraq and Jordan used to travel via Syria.

First-of-its-kind cooperation

A similar way is made by goods imported from Turkey and neighboring countries to Jordan and Iraq, which arrive at the port on ships. The vessels unload their cargo there, and the merchandise is taken by trucks to the Jordan River Crossing on its way to Jordan and Iraq.

According to estimates, the goods transported through Israel are worth tens of millions of dollars a month.

“Israel’s roads have turned into a transport pipe for exports and imports of goods and commodities from and to Jordan and Iraq,” confirmed a source at the Tax Authority, which is in charge of transporting the goods and inspecting them on the land border.

“These goods and products are not usually flown, but transferred in containers through trucks by land – and now by sea as well,” the source added.

Yedioth Ahronoth has learned that the transport operation is part of a first-its-kind cooperation between the customs authorities and transportation officials in Jordan Iraq and Turkey, and Tax Authority and other government officials in Israel.

The goods and deliveries undergo a strict security check in order to prevent the option of taking advantage of the Israeli gesture, which does not involve a very high profit for Israel, in order to carry out terror attacks or transfer weapons.

via Iraqi goods travel to Turkey via Israel – Israel Business, Ynetnews.

April 6, 2013
Israel, Turkey (and Beyond) Live Coverage: A New Israeli-Turkish Relationship?

1425 GMT: Palestine. Thousands of mourners have turned out for the funerals of three Palestinians, including two teenagers killed by Israeli army gunfire in Tulkarm.

On Tuesday, Maysara Abu Hamdeya, a 64-year-old prisoner serving a life term in an Israeli jail, died from cancer.

Palestinian officials accused Israel of delaying treatment for Hamdeya and gave him full military honours at the funeral in Hebron, where masked gunmen fired into the air as his body arrived at a mosque.

Amer Nassar, 17, and Naji Belbisi, 18, were killed in the wave of disturbances that followed the announcement of Hamdeya’s death.

1045 GMT: Egypt. Writing for the Associated Press, Maggie Michael and Sarah El Deeb describe the bloody clashes last month outside Muslim Brotherhood headquarters in Cairo:

The riot on March 22 revealed a new readiness of some in the anti-Brotherhood opposition to turn to violence, insisting they have no choice but to fight back against a group they accuse of using violence against them for months. The fight featured an unusual vengefulness. Young protesters were seen at one point pelting a Brotherhood member with firebombs and setting him aflame. Others chased anyone with a conservative Muslim beard, while Islamists set up checkpoints searching for protesters. Each side dragged opponents into mosques and beat them.

Since the fight, Islamists enraged by what they saw as aggression against their headquarters have for the past week hiked up calls for wider action against opponents — and the media in particular — accusing them of trying to overthrow Islamist President Mohammed Morsi.

1025 GMT: Egypt. Minister of Planning Ashraf al-Araby has said the Government expects to reach a final agreement with the International Monetary Fund on a $4.8 billion loan within two weeks.

An IMF delegation resumed negotiations with Egypt on Wednesday. Agreement has been held up for months by political and economic tensions, with President Morsi introducing but quickly withdrawing required tax increases and cut in subsidies last autumn.

Foreign reserves are at $13.4 billion, covering less than three months of imports.

0735 GMT: Palestine. US and Palestinian officials say that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas will suspend “all unilateral measures” at the United Nations to give US Secretary of State John Kerry time to pursue a new round of Israeli-Palestinian talks.

A source said the Fatah Central Committee, led by Abbas, passed a resolution for the suspensions on Tuesday.

“For a limited and specified period of time a new opportunity will be given to international efforts under way to break the deadlock in the peace process,” the resolution read. It went on to say, “In the event Israel thwarts such efforts, we will again turn to international organizations.”

In November, the UN General Assembly recognised Palestine as an Observer State, angering the Israelis and leading to a cut-off of tax revenues from Israel to the PA. West Jerusalem warned the PA, which controls the West Bank, not to pursue accession to UN agencies and bodies such as the International Criminal Court.

Sources gave the timeframe of the suspension of the Palestinian Authority’s efforts to secure member-state status in various UN agencies as around eight weeks starting on 22 March, when President Obama concluded his visit to the region, with a possible four-week extension.

Abbas is due to meet Kerry on Sunday.

0710 GMT: Palestine. Two Palestinian teenagers have been shot and killed by Israeli forces in the West Bank city of Tulkarm amid clashes.

One teenager was confirmed dead on Wednesday while the body of a second youth was found on Thursday.

The Israeli military said its troops opened fire on Palestinians who threw firebombs at a guard post.

0650 GMT: Israel and Turkey. We start this morning with an analysis by Shoshank Joshi and Aaron Stein of the recent “reconciliation” between West Jerusalem and Turkey, marked by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s apology over the killing of nine Turkish citizens by Israeli commandoes during an attack on a Gaza-bound “Freedom Flotilla” in May 2010.

On EA, we have emphasised the place of Syria in this reconcilation, with the US and others seeking to get Turkey and Israel on the same side over support for the insurgency. In the final third of the article Joshi and Stein add other dimensions:

1. The potential of exports of Israeli natural gas to Turkey, downplayed by the authors;

2. “What the apology could do is restart Turkey and Israel’s defense relationship”, with supply of Israeli drones, specialized equipment for Turkey’s U.S.-made Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft , and other technology and weapons;

3. “An upgrade in intelligence cooperation in Syria”;

4. “The apology may shake up Turkey’s diplomacy in the Palestinian territories….Turkey may even feel well placed to broker reconciliation between the two factions [of Hamas and Fatah].”

via EA WorldView – Home – Israel, Turkey (and Beyond) Live Coverage: A New Israeli-Turkish Relationship?.

April 5, 2013