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ISRAELI RAID DEALS A BLOW TO ITS TIES WITH TURKEY
by Megan K. Stack
Los Angeles Times
Home Edition
June 1, 2010 Tuesday
MOSCOW
Israel's raid on an aid flotilla that sailed out of Turkey may
have eviscerated, at least for the foreseeable future, any lingering
remnants of goodwill toward Israel among the political elite of Turkey
-- a country long prized by the Jewish state as its most stalwart
Muslim ally.
Turkey pulled its ambassador from Israel in protest Monday and backed
out of joint military exercises. As demonstrators took to the streets
to demand revenge, Turkish leaders unleashed fiery rhetoric against
Israel.
"It should be known that we are not going to remain silent in the face
of this inhumane state terrorism," Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan
said. He denied Israeli allegations that the activists had weapons,
saying the ships were screened.
At the United Nations, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu called
Monday "a black day in the history of humanity." Turkey demanded
Israel apologize and return the bodies of the dead as well as those
wounded to their homelands.
Davutoglu also called for an investigation into the raid, saying
Israel has "suffocated" the peace process by raiding the flotilla,
which had been headed to the Gaza Strip.
"Humanity drowned in the international waters of the Mediterranean,"
he said.
Ties between Turkey and Israel, forged during the Cold War and
strengthened by mutual convenience, had been deteriorating long before
Monday's bloodshed.
Israel has been leery of Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party,
fearing it may pull Turkey toward Islamism. Suspicion was particularly
intense in 2006, when Turkey hosted exiled Hamas political leader
Khaled Meshaal.
For Turkey, the Israeli friendship was becoming more costly politically
at home as Turks, along with the rest of the Muslim world, recoiled
from the ongoing Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories and
blockade of Gaza.
Turkey had long viewed its ties to Israel as proof of its diplomatic
clout. It believed, with some justification, that it could capitalize
on Israel's tight relationship with the United States to gain U.S.
backing -- or at least deflect American opposition -- for Turkey's
position on the controversial historical questions of Cyprus and the
Armenian genocide.
But as Turkey began to enjoy a sense of renewed strength, it began
to talk directly with Armenians and Greeks and to forge closer ties
with the Arab world.
Then, in 2009, shortly after an Israeli assault on Gaza killed
about 1,400 Palestinians and laid waste to a tiny territory already
devastated by poverty and violence, Erdogan electrified the Arab
world with an outburst of criticism.
Sitting onstage at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland,
the Turkish premier turned on Israeli President Shimon Peres, saying
angrily that Peres had "killed people." He then stormed off.
Turkey has long been outspoken against Israel's blockade of Gaza,
but the flotilla raid may be the final straw. It is likely to push
the two countries into a cold peace while elevating Turkey's status in
the Arab world as a strong country willing to push back against Israel.
Turkish television Monday was showing images of Palestinians in Gaza
and Arabs in other countries flying the Turkish flag alongside the
Palestinian flag.
"I don't know what kind of relationship can remain after this," said
Mustafa Akyol, a prominent Turkish columnist and author. "This is
every Turk I know -- Islamists, secularists, nationalists, everybody.
People are enraged."
From: A. Papazian
by Megan K. Stack
Los Angeles Times
Home Edition
June 1, 2010 Tuesday
MOSCOW
Israel's raid on an aid flotilla that sailed out of Turkey may
have eviscerated, at least for the foreseeable future, any lingering
remnants of goodwill toward Israel among the political elite of Turkey
-- a country long prized by the Jewish state as its most stalwart
Muslim ally.
Turkey pulled its ambassador from Israel in protest Monday and backed
out of joint military exercises. As demonstrators took to the streets
to demand revenge, Turkish leaders unleashed fiery rhetoric against
Israel.
"It should be known that we are not going to remain silent in the face
of this inhumane state terrorism," Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan
said. He denied Israeli allegations that the activists had weapons,
saying the ships were screened.
At the United Nations, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu called
Monday "a black day in the history of humanity." Turkey demanded
Israel apologize and return the bodies of the dead as well as those
wounded to their homelands.
Davutoglu also called for an investigation into the raid, saying
Israel has "suffocated" the peace process by raiding the flotilla,
which had been headed to the Gaza Strip.
"Humanity drowned in the international waters of the Mediterranean,"
he said.
Ties between Turkey and Israel, forged during the Cold War and
strengthened by mutual convenience, had been deteriorating long before
Monday's bloodshed.
Israel has been leery of Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party,
fearing it may pull Turkey toward Islamism. Suspicion was particularly
intense in 2006, when Turkey hosted exiled Hamas political leader
Khaled Meshaal.
For Turkey, the Israeli friendship was becoming more costly politically
at home as Turks, along with the rest of the Muslim world, recoiled
from the ongoing Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories and
blockade of Gaza.
Turkey had long viewed its ties to Israel as proof of its diplomatic
clout. It believed, with some justification, that it could capitalize
on Israel's tight relationship with the United States to gain U.S.
backing -- or at least deflect American opposition -- for Turkey's
position on the controversial historical questions of Cyprus and the
Armenian genocide.
But as Turkey began to enjoy a sense of renewed strength, it began
to talk directly with Armenians and Greeks and to forge closer ties
with the Arab world.
Then, in 2009, shortly after an Israeli assault on Gaza killed
about 1,400 Palestinians and laid waste to a tiny territory already
devastated by poverty and violence, Erdogan electrified the Arab
world with an outburst of criticism.
Sitting onstage at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland,
the Turkish premier turned on Israeli President Shimon Peres, saying
angrily that Peres had "killed people." He then stormed off.
Turkey has long been outspoken against Israel's blockade of Gaza,
but the flotilla raid may be the final straw. It is likely to push
the two countries into a cold peace while elevating Turkey's status in
the Arab world as a strong country willing to push back against Israel.
Turkish television Monday was showing images of Palestinians in Gaza
and Arabs in other countries flying the Turkish flag alongside the
Palestinian flag.
"I don't know what kind of relationship can remain after this," said
Mustafa Akyol, a prominent Turkish columnist and author. "This is
every Turk I know -- Islamists, secularists, nationalists, everybody.
People are enraged."
From: A. Papazian