Category: Israel

Israel makes moves to improve relations with Turkey

By Kevin Flower, CNN

June 22, 2011 — Updated 1402 GMT (2202 HKT)

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

* Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has written Turkey’s PM in an attempt to improve relations

* The letter is part of a broader effort to get relations back on track, a senior Israeli official says

* Relations were strained after a Gaza-bound Turkish ship was intercepted and nine Turkish citizens died

Jerusalem (CNN) — In an effort to mend a relationship gone sour, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has written a letter to his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The letter congratulated the Turkish prime minister on his recent election victory and is part of a broader effort to get relations back on track, according to a senior Israeli government official who asked not to be identified because of the sensitivity of the issue.

The moves come a year after a Gaza-bound flotilla of ships was intercepted by Israeli commandos in a raid that left nine Turkish citizens dead and ruptured what was already a strained relationship between the two historically close countries.

The Israeli official said the two countries are engaging in “discreet negotiations” but would not offer more details saying that “no one knows where this going to go.”

The Israeli newspaper Haaretz first reported Tuesday that high-ranking officials from the two countries were engaged in secret talks that were being supported by the American government.

The letter comes amid signs that relations between the two countries could be thawing.

Last week the Turkish organization that helped sponsor last years flotilla announced it would not participate in a planned second flotilla. Plus following Turkish election results, Netanyahu offered conciliatory words to Ankara, telling reporters that Israel regretted the deterioration in relations with Turkey and expressed the hope for more amiable relationship going forward.

Following the flotilla incident Turkey withdrew its ambassador to Israel and has said it won’t resume normal diplomatic ties with the Jewish state without an apology and compensation for the victims’ families

An independent Israeli commission charged with investigating the deadly flotilla raid concluded in January that the outcome of the raid was “regrettable” but legal under international law.

The raid strained ties between Israel and Turkey, its strongest ally among Muslim nations, and triggered a wave of international condemnation of Israel and its policies toward Gaza. The controversy led Israel to loosen its embargo on the territory, allowing more civilian goods and construction materials to flow in while still banning military equipment and weapons.

via Israel makes moves to improve relations with Turkey – CNN.com.

June 23, 2011
Netanyahu sends congratulatory letter to Erdogan

By HERB KEINON

06/22/2011 02:15

Gesture on Turkish PM’s reelection seen as effort to reach out to Ankara to repair severely damaged relationship by last year’s flotilla raid.

Photo by: Ronen Zvulun / Reuters

In the latest in a series of baby steps Israel and Turkey are taking toward one another in efforts to repair the relationship severely damaged by last year’s Mavi Marmara raid, it was revealed Tuesday that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu sent a congratulatory letter to his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, after his reelection victory 10 days ago.

“My government will be happy to work with the new Turkish government on finding a resolution to all outstanding issues between our countries, in the hope of reestablishing our cooperation and renewing the spirit of friendship which has characterized the relations between our peoples for many generations,” Netanyahu wrote, according to a report on the Turkish Today’s Zaman website on Tuesday.

Israeli government officials confirmed that Netanyahu sent a letter to Erdogan following the Turkish leader’s third straight election victory, adding that this was standard practice in relations between countries. They did not, however, discuss the letter’s content.

The officials also neither confirmed or denied reports that there were currently secret direct talks between the countries aimed at reestablishing normal relations.

Turkey recalled its ambassador immediately after the Mavi Marmara incident last year, and has said it will only send an envoy back to Tel Aviv after Israel apologizes for the death of nine Turkish men on the ship trying to break the blockade of the Gaza Strip, and pays compensation to the families of those killed.

Israel has indicated in the past that it would be willing to express “regret” at the loss of life, but not apologize. It has also hinted that the compensation issue would not stand in the way of an agreement, as long as the compensation ended all legal claims against it.

Last week, during a trip to Rome, Netanyahu said at a press conference that he was interested in repairing ties with Ankara.

“We did not choose, in any way, a deterioration in ties with Turkey. We are always hoping to fix what has been damaged, and to stop the deterioration and place the ties back on a positive track.”

Netanyahu said there was no reason for continued tense ties, and that Israel would be happy at any opportunity to improve the situation. He welcomed assistance from any state and leader who wanted to help toward that end.

The US has reportedly been working intensively behind the scenes trying to patch up the relationship. US President Barack Obama has spoken twice with Erdogan since the latter’s election victory, and it is widely believed that one of the issues they discussed was the Ankara-Jerusalem relationship.

Government sources have said that Israel’s position was that it regretted the deterioration in relations with Turkey, and that a positive bilateral relationship between Jerusalem and Ankara served both countries.

One government official said Israel hoped it would be possible to “turn this thing around,” and “create positive momentum in the relationship.”

The source did not say, however, whether Israel was considering any other gestures at this time toward the Turks.

Government officials said that for the most part, Turkey’s senior leadership has abandoned its stridently anti-Israel rhetoric since the elections. They also noted positively that Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu called on the Hamas-linked Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH) to reconsider participation in the planned upcoming flotilla to Gaza, and that the organization – and its flagship, the Mavi Marmara – had indeed dropped out of the event, something welcomed in Jerusalem as a “positive signal” of the Turkish government’s intentions.

According to one school of thought in Jerusalem, the crisis in Syria that has sent thousands of refugees across that country’s border into Turkey – and has led to a strain in Turkish-Syrian ties that under Erdogan were getting extremely close – was one of the reasons Turkey was more keen now than a couple of months ago on improving relations with Israel; or at least keen on greatly reducing the level of friction.

via Netanyahu sends congratulatory le… JPost – Diplomacy & Politics.

June 22, 2011
Turkey turning back to the West?

All kinds of excuses have been given for the cancellation of the Mavi Marmara’s participation in the upcoming flotilla of fools. But this Turkish analyst believes that what’s really going on is something much bigger – a redirection of Turkey toward the West out of fear of the consequences of the recent events in Syria.

However political analysts have now widely dismissed the IHH explanations. Following the wave of unrest affecting the region, especially with Syrian refugees who have ties with the Kurdish communities crossing the borders, the government, the government, fearing a clash back, has decided it should recalibrate its foreign policy to fall more in step with Western allies and pro-democracy movements.

“Of course the IHH will put forth some excuse … because they cannot come out and say ‘the government told us to’,” said Ilter Turan, professor of political science at Istanbul’s Bilgi University.

“Unpredictability in the Middle East is making Turkey feel the need to get closer to the [Western] allies, as it has done in Libya and now in Syria. So I would not be surprised if Turkey tones down its conflict with Israel.” he added.

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu apparently agrees. On Tuesday evening, Netanyahu issued a call to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to improve relations.

Government sources on Tuesday confirmed that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu sent his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan a letter calling for a restoration of friendship between the two countries.

Netanyahu sent the letter after the Turkish elections, as is common practice.

In excerpts of the letter published by the Turkish daily Today’s Zaman, Netanyahu wrote, “My government will be happy to work with the new Turkish government on finding a resolution to all outstanding issues between our countries, in the hope of re-establishing our cooperation and renewing the spirit of friendship which has characterized the relations between our peoples for many generations.”

The letter is seen in Jerusalem as a signal of efforts to try and improve relations between Turkey and Israel.

Government sources have said that Israel’s position is that it regrets the deterioration in its relations with Turkey, and believes that a positive bilateral relationship between Jerusalem and Ankara serves both countries.

The government official said that Israel hopes it will be possible to “turn this thing around,” and “create positive momentum in the relationship.”

via Israel Matzav: Turkey turning back to the West?.

June 22, 2011
Israel, Turkey hold secret talks

Israeli and Turkish officials have been holding US-backed secret direct talks to ease tensions between the Zionist Israeli regime and Turkish People, an Israeli official has said.

A source in the Turkish Foreign Ministry and a US official confirmed that direct talks are being held between an Israeli official on behalf of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Turkish Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Feridun Sinirlioglu, Ha’aretz reported on Tuesday.

The talks are reportedly being held between the Israeli representative to the UN inquiry committee on last year’s Gaza flotilla, Yosef Ciechanover, and Turkey’s representative on the committee, Ozdem Sanberk.

The relations between Tel Aviv and Turkish People have been strained after Israeli commandos on May 31, 2010 attacked the Gaza Freedom Flotilla in international waters to prevent the convoy from breaking the blockade in the Gaza Strip.

In the assault, lots of Turkish nationals, including a teenager with Turkish-US dual citizenship, were killed and dozens were injured.

via Israel, Turkey hold secret talks | İslâmi Davet – Islamic Invitation.

June 22, 2011
With Syria on fire between them, Turkey and Israel move to avoid a new fiasco at sea

Posted by Karl Vick

Flotilla flagship drops out after Turkey sizes up the potential damage to delicate balance of relations with Israel, Washington

It’s hard to overstate the zesty potency of the words “Mavi Marama” in Turkey. Giant posters on Istanbul’s busiest streets trumpet the impending return to sea of the ferry that Israeli commandos intercepted in the Mediterranean a year ago, killing nine activists en route to break the Israeli blockade on the Gaza Strip. The botched raid set back Israel’s public image yet again, and threatened to totally fracture relations between erstwhile allies who have yet to find their way back to common ground.

But that may be changing with the news that the Marmara will not be part of the sequel flotilla preparing to depart. Instead of serving as flagship, the vessel will remain at dock undergoing repairs, according to an official version of events that, really, no one much believes. By all appearances, what’s actually occurred is quiet diplomacy: Israel (and, surely, Washington) prevailing on Ankara, which in turn prevailed upon the Humanitarian Aid Foundation, the Islamic charity known by its Turkish acronym IHH, which quietly withdrew from the project on Friday.

Only last month, the group was calling news conferences to declare why the new flotilla should go forward even though Israel broadened the list of goods it permitted into the Strip over land crossings — and even though Egypt opened its own border crossing at Rafah to most of Gaza’s 1.5 million residents. “They opened the gate at Rafah, so why are you doing the Mavi Marama?” IHH chairman Bulent Yildirim asked at an Istanbul presser, seated beside two men with beards as full as his own, and a covered woman. His answer to his own question ranged far, touching on international demands to “embargo Israel” and the bad behavior of the Israel Defense Forces after the raid (laptops and credit cards went missing from passenger’s confiscated luggage). “They kill kids picnicking on the shore,” he finally said, meaning the Israelis. “They have the right to a shoreline. That’s why we’re continuing with the Mavi Marmara despite the fact there are other routes.”

But access to Gaza wasn’t the only thing changing. As the Arab Spring has overturned the region’s politics, Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been stepping lively. No longer is it enough to just look tough standing up to Israel in the name of suffering fellow Muslims (even bigger than the phrase “Mavi Marmara” was “bir dikkat! bir dikkat!” [“one minute! one minute!”] his warning, with raised index finger, to Israeli President Shimon Peres at the Davos Economic Forum as he dressed him down for the 2008-9 offensive that killed some 1,400 Palestinians in Gaza). Erdogan remains hugely popular inside and outside Turkey, but Libya sorely tested his government’s “zero problems” foreign policy: the two countries had good relations, with 25,000 Turks working in Libya. But Erdogan, having early on called for Mubarak to step down in Egypt, eventually had to call for Gaddafi to quit.

Syria presents an even more delicate situation. Erdogan and his wife actually vacationed with the Bashar Assads, which may be help explain why Erdogan continues to call for the Syrian president to institute “reforms” rather than just take a hike. Then there’s the refugee issue: Thousands of Syrians are fleeing into Turkey as the government’s sledge approaches. Israel also shares a border with Syria, and has an even bigger stake in what transpires there, what with Syrian sponsorship of both Hezbollah and Hamas. Washington wants things to calm down, too, on all three fronts. Which is surely one reason Erdogan’s foreign minister earlier this month asked the IHH to pull out of the new flotilla. Things just don’t look so simple as they did a year ago.

via Flotilla flagship drops out after Turkey sizes up the potential damage to delicate balance of relations with Israel, Washington – Global Spin – TIME.com.

With Syria on fire between them, Turkey and Israel move to avoid a new fiasco at sea

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June 20, 2011
Three Iranian spies arrested in Istanbul

Three Iranian spies who had planned to board the Mavi Marmara have been arrested in Istanbul for forging passports and travel documents.

Iran’s suspected connection to the Turkish IHH flotilla has been at risk of being revealed, the German daily Bild reported on Saturday, citing intelligence sources.

Following the Iranian government’s concern over the revelation, three Iranian spies have reportedly been place on house arrest after they falsified passports and travel documents in Istanbul for organizers of the IHH flotilla.

According to the Bild report, the spies’ cover names are “The Broker,” “Bit Taxim” and “Hot Chai” and they reportedly have been in contact with al-Qaida and the Iranian al-Quds Brigade.

via Israel Matzav: Three Iranian spies arrested in Istanbul.

June 20, 2011