When it comes to relations between Turkey and Israel, 'nothing will be the same again', writes MARY FITZGERALD
ANYONE WONDERING what impact Israel’s commando raid on the Gaza-bound aid flotilla might have on the decades-old alliance between Ankara and Tel Aviv would have little doubt following a fiery speech by Turkey’s prime minister yesterday.
“Today is a turning point in history. Nothing will be the same again,” Recep Tayyip Erdogan thundered in an address to parliament.
The Israeli operation, which resulted in the deaths of at least four Turkish nationals, was a “bloody massacre”, he declared, and nothing short of an attack “on international law, the conscience of humanity and world peace”.
Turkey’s reaction to the killings was swift. It withdrew its ambassador to Israel immediately after the raid, pulled out of three joint military exercises and called the UN Security Council to an emergency meeting which resulted in a demand for an impartial investigation.
Thousands of Turks have taken to the streets to protest over the deaths. “Everyone is outraged, right across the political spectrum,” said Mustafa Akyol, a Turkish political commentator. “I think you can no longer speak of Israel and Turkey as allies in the same way.”
The relationship between Turkey and Israel, arguably one of the latter’s most important strategic partnerships, dates back to Ankara’s recognition of the fledgling state in 1949.
Although Israel has relations of varying warmth with Arab states such as Egypt and Jordan, its alliance with predominantly Muslim Turkey is unique and encompasses deep military and commercial ties. Bilateral trade is about $2.6 billion (€2.1 billion) – about 1 per cent of Turkey’s overall trade.
But relations between Israel and Turkey’s ruling AKP, a party with Islamist roots, have become fraught since Israel’s military offensive on Gaza last year.
Apart from Turkish anger over the number of casualties, the war caused Ankara’s painstaking mediation efforts between Israel and Syria to crumble, and Erdogan was believed to feel badly let down.
Erdogan became something of a hero in Turkey and the wider region when he stormed off stage at the World Economic Forum in Davos after haranguing Israeli president Shimon Peres over Gaza.
In January, Turkey felt slighted when its ambassador to Israel was forced to sit on a low sofa during a meeting with Israeli deputy foreign minister Danny Ayalon.
In Israel, as in some quarters in Europe, there has been unease over the perception that the AKP is tilting eastwards in an effort to bolster its influence in the wider region. Ankara has made several overtures to Iran.
Last month, in an initiative co-sponsored by Brazil, Turkey offered to take possession of some of Tehran’s stockpile of newly enriched uranium in an effort to stave off sanctions.
During a visit to Dublin earlier this year, Turkish foreign minister Ahmet Davutoglu told The Irish Timesthat while relations with Israel had deteriorated, all was not lost. "If the Israeli side improves its approach . . . we will have everything to do with Israel for future steps towards peace," he said.
It all looks very different this week. “No one should test Turkey’s patience,” Erdogan said yesterday. “Turkey’s hostility is as strong as its friendship is valuable.”