Category: Israel

Davutoglu: Turkey will not discuss future of Syria with Israel

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has said Turkey categorically denies discussing the future of Syria with Israel, dismissing suggestions that the recent Israeli apology was linked to developments in war-torn Syria Today`s Zaman reported.

“This will be Turkey’s stance both today and tomorrow. Turkey will never discuss Syria’s future with Israel,” said Davutoglu during a televised interview on Thursday, adding that this was the case for all of Turkey’s neighbors.

Noting that Turkey refuses to be part of regional policies determined by Israel, such as the ones in 1990s, Davutoglu said that the days when Turkey was not included in regional peace processes were now over.

The Turkish foreign minister said Turkey was now the main actor in the Middle East putting forward regional solutions and policies. “From today onwards, Turkey will not bother about losing this country or that country,” he said while noting, in an apparent message to the Israel administration, that if there are countries who believe it advantageous to repair relations with Turkey due to the Syrian crisis, it was their concern.

In late March, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu offered an apology to Turkey for a 2010 raid on the Mavi Marmara aid flotilla that resulted in the deaths of eight Turks and a Turkish American. Shortly after the apology, Netanyahu made it clear that a failed Syrian state with chemical weapons at large was the main motive behind the apology.

Davutoglu stated that the Israeli apology was the product of three-year discussions between Israeli officials who chose to offer an apology when they understood that it was not in their best interests to continue the rift.

Rift between families of Mavi Marmara victims and government untrue

Touching on the Mavi Marmara attack, Davutoglu said the passengers of the flotilla only aimed to take humanitarian aid to Gaza and were not perusing any personal interest, but did it for the honor of humanity. The Turkish foreign minister also said that, except for some groups, many people across the world regarded the Mavi Marmara volunteers as people who risked their lives for the honor of humanity.

Following the Israeli apology, the families of the nine victims have insisted that the blockade on the Gaza Strip be lifted, underlining that without the ending of the blockade and embargo, Israel’s apology and compensation for the victim’s families and those injured would have no meaning. The families also said that they have no intention of retracting their lawsuits.

In relation to suggestions that the government tried to prevent families from obtaining compensation, Davutoglu said those claims were not true. He added that they will continue to talk to families about the process and fight for their rights.

No need for a mediator in talks with Iraqi government

Davutoglu also said that Turkey did not need a mediator to have talks with the Iraqi government, apparently referring to US Secretary of State John Kerry’s recent visits to Iraq and Turkey. Relations with Iraq have been strained as the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has criticized Turkey for interfering in Iraqi affairs. Maliki is particularly concerned over Turkey developing ties with the Iraqi Kurds in the north of the country. During his visit to Baghdad on March 24, Kerry also spoke to Iraqi Kurdish leader Massoud Barzani on the phone, telling him to abandon unilateral actions that do not receive the blessing of Baghdad, particularly with regard to an oil pipeline deal with Turkey.

Days later, Maliki softened his rhetoric, saying that he would welcome rapprochement with Turkey.

Davutoglu said Turkey never cut off its ties with Iraq but warned that the Iraqi premier should be careful about his comments regarding Turkey.

Touching on Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s scheduled visit to Palestine in late May, the Turkish foreign minister said this date was chosen with the hope that the rival political groups of Palestine, Hamas and Fatah, may have reached a reconciliation by then.

Davutoglu added that the important thing in the Palestine-Israel conflict is to solve the problem, not the issue of who is going to mediate between the groups.

April 26, 2013
In Israel, both coalition and opposition urge remembrance of Armenian genocide

Knesset members speak out despite the government’s efforts to achieve a detente with Turkey.

By Jonathan Lis | Apr.23, 2013 | 8:17 PM | 10

A World War Two veteran attends a ceremony marking the anniversary of the 1915 mass killings of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire, in Yerevan April 24, 2010. Photo by Reuters

Both coalition and opposition members Tuesday commemorated the Armenian genocide by the Ottoman Turks, despite Israel’s efforts to patch things up with Turkey over the raid on the Gaza flotilla three years ago in which eight Turkish nationals died.

During and after World War I, between 1 million and 1.5 million Armenians died; the anniversary of the killings is marked this week. Because of Jerusalem’s past close relations with Ankara, the government has never officially recognized the events as genocide.

“How many of us are really familiar with the Armenian holocaust? Why are we indifferent when Turkey does not take responsibility?” said MK Ayelet Shaked (Habayit Hayehudi). “We must confront our silence and that of the world in the face of such horrors. No country stood by the Armenians. No one cared about the genocide in Rwanda.”

MK Israel Hasson (Kadima) called on his colleagues to support the Armenian people. “We’ve formed an Israeli-Armenian friendship association, and I call on any MKs who want to express solidarity to join it, even if the government has difficulty formulating a statement.”

MK Reuven Rivlin (Likud), a former Knesset speaker, said “Turkey is and will be an ally of Israel. The talks with Turkey are understandable and even necessary from a strategic and diplomatic perspective. But those circumstances cannot justify the Knesset ignoring the tragedy of another people.”

MK Zahava Gal-On (Meretz) referred to the reconciliation talks with Turkey as “an important and strategic process that I wholeheartedly support, but it needn’t influence recognition of the massacre of the Armenian people. It’s not that we have to either recognize the genocide or have relations with Turkey; we can do both. The link between the two harms Israel and its foreign relations.”

Ofir Akunis, a deputy minister in the Prime Minister’s Office, said that “as Jews and Israelis we have a moral obligation to remember human tragedies. One of them was the massacre of the Armenian people. The State of Israel has never denied these terrible events.”

According to Akunis, “Investigating the related events must be done through open debate, not by political declarations.”

In the end, the MKs decided that the Knesset House Committee would choose which committee would conduct a broader debate on the issue.

April 24, 2013
Kerry compares Boston and Mavi Marmara victims

By TOVAH LAZAROFF, GIL HOFFMAN

US Secretary of State compares the 2 tragedies saying he has “deep feelings when violence happens”; MK Shaked: Kerry should go to Chechnya.

People comfort each other after deadly twin blasts at the Boston Marathon, April 15, 2013. Photo: Reuters

US Secretary of State John Kerry compared the victims of the Boston Marathon bombing to the nine Turkish activists killed by the IDF as they tried to break Gaza’s naval blockade, at a press conference in Istanbul on Sunday.

“I know it’s an emotional issue with some people,” Kerry said of the Mavi Marmara deaths. “I particularly say to the families of people who were lost in the incident: We understand these tragedies completely and we sympathize with them.”

He then added, “And nobody – I mean, I have just been through the week of Boston and I have deep feelings for what happens when you have violence and something happens and you lose people that are near and dear to you. It affects a community, it affects a country,” Kerry said. “We’re very sensitive to that.”

Senior Israeli leaders, including Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, Justice Minister Tzipi Livni, Energy and Water Minister Silvan Shalom, Economy and Trade Minister Naftali Bennett, and Deputy Foreign Minister Ze’ev Elkin all made a point of not responding to Kerry’s comparison on Monday.

High-ranking diplomatic officials in Jerusalem said they believed Kerry was misunderstood and he was really only trying to show empathy with the people of Turkey on a national level. The officials accused the press of deliberately trying to twist what Kerry had said.

But Knesset members from across the political spectrum condemned Kerry’s comparison and said they found it extremely offensive.

Since the 2010 raid, Israel has released video footage showing activists beating the soldiers with metal sticks and chairs as they descended onto the boat. The IDF said that metal rods, improvised sharp metal objects, sticks and clubs, 5 kg. hammers, firebombs and gas masks were found on board the boat.

It said that these weapons were used against the naval soldiers and that seven soldiers were injured. It added that activists had also taken two pistols from the soldiers.

The relatives of the nine Turkish activists, including one dual American citizen, have argued that their loved ones were killed in cold blood as they sailed to offer humanitarian assistance to the people in Gaza.

The three victims of the bombing in Boston were killed last week after two brothers with ties to Chechnya exploded two bombs at the finish line of the America’s oldest marathon. The victims had gone to watch a race that attracts athletes from across the United States and around the globe. Among the 176 people injured were runners who used the marathon to raise money for humanitarian causes.

“He completely distorted reality and turned white into black and black into white,” said Labor MK Nachman Shai. “How can he make such a comparison? In Boston, terrorists killed civilians. On the Mavi Marmara ship, terrorists were killed.”

Bayit Yehudi faction chairwoman Ayelet Shaked went further, saying that Kerry mixed up the assailants and the victims.

“According to what Kerry said, he should fly now to Chechnya to pay a condolence call to the parents of the poor terrorists in Boston,” Shaked said.

Deputy Defense Minister Danny Danon, who in the past would have been the first to slam the Obama administration, continued his trend of more measured responses since he was appointed to his new post.

“It is never helpful when a moral equivalency is made confusing terrorists with their victims,” Danon said.

“As our American friends were made all too aware once again last week, the only way to deal with the evils of terrorism it to wage an unrelenting war against its perpetrators wherever they may be.”

April 24, 2013
Turkey Denies Talking with Israel About Iran Strike

Turkey dismisses report suggesting that an Israeli delegation would hold talks about using a Turkish airbase to train for a attack in Iran.

By Elad Benari

F-15 Fighter Jet

Flash 90

Turkey dismissed on Sunday evening a news report suggesting that an Israeli delegation set to arrive in Ankara on Monday would hold talksabout Israel using a Turkish airbaseto train for a possible attack on Iranian nuclear facilities.

The report, which appeared in theSunday Times, said that NationalSecurity Council chairman Yaakov Amidror would offer missiles and advanced technology to Turkey in exchange for Ankara’s allowing the Israeli Air Force to use a base located approximately 1,000 miles from the border with Iran.

However, a Turkish official denied the report, telling the Turkish daily Hurriyet, “The report seems to have explained a hypothesis.”

“We have already said that the normalization of our relations will be step by step. Talking about the prospects of a military cooperation at this stage would be irrelevant. We are not there yet. We haven’t even yet appointed a new ambassador to Israel,” said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Amidror will head an Israeli delegation to Ankara that will begin discussions over compensation to families of those who died in clashes during the 2010 Mavi Marmara incident.

The Sunday Times report alleged that in addition to the Marmara talks, Amidror was also assigned to try to resuscitate a 1996 agreement between Jerusalem and Ankara which allowed the Israeli Air Forces to train in Turkish airspace and use the Akıncı airbase.

Turkey recently delayed the beginning of talks with Israel over compensation for the Marmara flotilla.

The talks were delayed until Monday because Turkey’s Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc had to accompany Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on a trip to Kazakhstan on the originally scheduled date.

Arinc, who will lead the negotiating on behalf of Turkey, told the Hebrew-languageNRG news site last week that “Turkey anticipates full restoration of relations with Israel. I will lead the Turkish delegation for negotiations with Israel next week on restitution for the nine Mavi Marmara victims.”

Tags: Turkey ,Mavi Marmara ,Iran Strike ,Iran Nuclear threat ,Turkey-Israel relations

April 24, 2013
John Kerry asks Turkish leader to delay Gaza trip

John Kerry asks Turkish leader to delay Gaza trip

The secretary of State also acknowledges frustration with the slow delivery of U.S. aid to Syrian rebels.

By Paul Richter, Los Angeles TimesApril 21, 2013, 9:22 p.m.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu shows U.S. Secretary of State John F. Kerry the skyline of Istanbul before the start of a meeting in the Turkish city. (Hakan Goktepe / AFP/Getty Images / April 21, 2013)

ISTANBUL, Turkey — Secretary of State John F. Kerryurged Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to delay a planned visit to the Gaza Strip, saying it could jeopardize efforts to restart Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.

Ending a two-day visit to Istanbul, Kerry told reporters Sunday that he believed that “it would be more helpful [for Erdogan] to wait for the right circumstance…. We’re trying to get off the ground, and we would like to see the parties with as little outside distraction as possible.”

He said this was one of a number of “important reasons” why Erdogan shouldn’t go on the trip, and implied that the Turkish leader hadn’t made a final decision on the plan.

Kerry met with Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and other Turkish officials, but didn’t see Erdogan.

Both the Israelis and Palestinian Authority PresidentMahmoud Abbas have voiced unhappiness with Erdogan’s plans.

Erdogan has been pushing for Israel to ease its partial embargo on the entry of goods into Gaza, and has announced plans to visit the impoverished seaside zone in the next few weeks.

The move could complicate efforts to begin a rapprochement between Turkey and Israel. Former allies, they have been estranged since Israeli soldiers killed Turks when a Turkish flotilla sought to breach the naval blockade of Gaza in 2010.

At President Obama’s urging, Israeli Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu formally apologized to Turkey last month. An Israeli delegation is scheduled to meet with Turkish officials Monday to discuss compensation for the families of the Turks who were killed.

On another subject, Kerry acknowledged some frustration with the slow delivery of U.S. aid to Syrian rebels, but said U.S. officials have made progress in speeding deliveries, and insisted future aid will arrive more quickly. Aid that Kerry announced in February hasn’t yet been delivered to rebel forces, and it’s unclear how long it will take for delivery of a new round of nonlethal aid that Kerry announced at an international meeting in Istanbul on Saturday.

Kerry promised he would “press as hard as I can to make sure it’s a matter of weeks — it has to happen quickly.”

Rebel fighters have complained that the United States hasn’t given them enough military help, and the aid it has approved has been slow in coming. In late February, Kerry announced that the United States would provide $60 million in food and medicine, in a package that for the first time would be sent directly to rebel fighting units. That amount will now be more than doubled, to $123 million.

Kerry said it is still unclear what kind of gear will be bought with the new money. He said the Syrian opposition’s Supreme Military Council would be given its choice of goods, which may include body armor, night-vision goggles and armored vehicles.

U.S. officials say they remain opposed to providing arms, partly because they fear weaponry could end up in the hands of the religious extremists who are a growing part of rebel forces. But other U.S. allies, including Qatar and Saudi Arabia, are funneling arms to the opposition fighters.

April 23, 2013
US, Israel, Turkey share security interests in ME : John Kerry

US Secretary of State John Kerry says his country shares mutual security interests in the Middle East with Turkey and Israel.

US Secretary of State John Kerry (file photo)

On Sunday, Kerry urged Turkey to speed up an improvement in its relationship with Israel.

The remarks by the US secretary of state came as he was answering questions regarding the necessity of rapprochement between Tel Aviv and Ankara during a visit to Turkey.

Kerry also said the current unrest in Syria and Iran’s nuclear energy program are major threats to security of Washington, Tel Aviv, and Turkey in the region.

He declined to comment on a recent report by the BritishSunday Times saying Israel is discussing with Turkey the use of a base outside the Turkish capital, Ankara, to launch a possible attack against Iran.

During a trip to Tel Aviv last month, US President Barack Obama secured a pledge from Turkish and Israeli leaders to normalize relations.

Tensions increased between Ankara and Tel Aviv after a 2010 Israeli raid on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla, which claimed the lives of nine Turkish activists.

Last month, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced a full resumption of ties with Turkey after saying that he had finally apologized for the deaths of the Turkish activists.

In a deal brokered by Obama, the Israeli premier also accepted Turkey’s demands for compensation to be paid to the families of the nine activists who were killed. However, the rapprochement has been slow in moving forward.

SZH/SS

April 22, 2013