Ten killed as Israel intercepts convoy

[Jaga]

At least CNN talks about it. FoxNews still talks mainly about Sestak story, since they want to repeat Lewinsky distraction badly.

Tufta,
You can be an Israeli friend, but you cannot ignore the fact that Palestinians are treated as badly as blacks in South Africa during Apartheid.
Israel has a huge lobby in the US and the US would be the last country to admit to Israeli wrong doing, but they would have to eventually.
At least this story brings to the light militaristic and cruel Netanyahu regime to the public light.

[Jaga]

here is an interesting perspective from a discussion in WashingtonPost:

For those of you who think Israel is in the right about this: there are peaceful ways to enforce an embargo. When the Americans wanted the Russians to divert themselves from Cuba during the Missile Crisis, I don't recall Americans boarding any ship and shooting up the passengers to force their hand upon the Russians. Simply placing some type of ship cordon would've sufficed. Also, this happened out in international waters, not in Israeli territorial waters. If the Israelis want to claim self-defense or the sovereign right to deflect people in their territory, why didn't they wait until the boats got to Israeli waters? The fact is that Israel thinks itself as somehow above the international rules that most other nations respect. That type of hubris, aside from the killing of innocent protesters, is what is pissing off people like me. (I've visited Israel, and I love the people. The more I hear about their government, though, the more I hate it.)

www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/31/AR2010053101209_Comments.html

[pieter]

The Huffington Post

www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/05/31/mavi-marmara-video-israel-news-gaza-flotilla_n_595250.html

[pieter]

The Turks are now united in their rage and anti-Israeli sentiment, due to the Israeli attack on the
Turkish ship of the International ship convoy to Gaza, Al Jazeera just reported.
I followed the news on the Huffington Post website.

[pieter]

The Turkish people feel extremely passionate about this issue, because it is a Turkish ship which was
entered by the Israeli special forces, and probably the victims are Turkish too.

The Turks are quite upset about the humanitarian situation of the Palestinians in Gaza.

Turkish demonstrators tried to storm the Israeli consulate in Istanbul, but were halted
ny the riot police.

This will deteriorate the Turkish-Israeli relations further, after the Gaza-war differances of opinions
and tensions between the two states.

[pieter]

Mass left-wing protest in TA
By BEN HARTMAN (Jerusalem Post)
05/31/2010 21:44


Activists decry Gaza flotilla 'massacre' at demonstration in Tel Aviv.

Several hundred left-wing activists held a demonstration outside the Defense Ministry headquarters in Tel Aviv on Monday, protesting a raid by IDF troops on the Gaza flotilla that left at least nine foreign activists dead.


Peace Now


The logo of the leftwing Israeli Hadash party

The protestors, many of whom were waving Palestinian flags, included members of groups from across the spectrum of left-wing Israel, including Peace Now and Hadash as well as a large group of anarchists and communists. In the wake of the deadly raid, activists sang chants calling Israel a fascist state, and held signs, including some that called for a boycott.

The Palestinian flag

Jubr, an Israeli-Arab activist from Hadash, said that he had come to the demonstration in order to “protest the massacre carried out by IDF pirates. We came to say no to these crimes, these crimes that they carry out on a regular basis. Our message is that we will continue to protest these actions as long as they occur.”

Organizers also vowed to hold an additional “mass protest” in Tel Aviv on Saturday night entitled “No to the next war! Two Jerusalems – One peace!”

Monday night’s protest was met by a counter protest held about 100 yards down the street by a group of around 20 Kahanist activists, waving Israeli flags and holding signs saying “Kahane was right” and “way to go IDF! This is how you deal with enemies!”


The Logo of the Israeli far right Kach and Kahana Chai
(Kahana lives) movement


Far-right activist Baruch Marzel

The protest was attended by far-right activist Baruch Marzel, who told the Jerusalem Post that the point of the gathering was “to show our respect and appreciation for the actions of the IDF today. This is how you deal with enemies and really the only problem I see is that we didn’t kill [Israel Islamic Movement leader] Sheikh Raed Salah while we were at it.”

Israel Islamic Movement leader, Sheikh Raed Salah

Large numbers of police kept the two protests and separate and prevented all but a handle of shouting matches from breaking out.

Also Monday, a protest against the government of Turkey and the organizers of the flotilla was held outside the Turkish embassy in Tel Aviv. Protestors held signs written in both Turkish and Hebrew criticizing the Turkish government for their support of the flotilla and praised the actions of IDF troops.

[Jaga]

'Israel is a Lunatic State' - Finkelstein on Gaza Flotilla Attack

[Jaga]

Somebody imitated post from AIPAC. Some points make sense. especially killing activist with paintball guns"

I would like to point out the following facts that are relevant to the discussion:

[x] 6 million Jews died in the holocaust.

[x] You are an anti semite.

[ ] Israel made the desert bloom and we have beautiful beaches.

[ ] The Jews have been persecuted for thousands of years.

[x] All arabs want to push the Jews into the sea.

[x] Israel is a shining example of democracy and ethnic discrimination does not exist.

[x] Suicide bombers are killing Israeli citizens and collective punishment will put a stop to this eventually.

[x] The IDF are showing remarkable restraint; They have the power to nuke the entire region but choose not to.

[x] It is the fault of the Palestinians that they don't rebuild infrastructure fast enough after we bomb it.

[x] Arafat walked out on camp David, proving that 100% of Palestinians want war, not peace.

[ ] The Jews are God's chosen people and this is the land that was promised to us by a book.

[ ] It is not a genocide until hundreds of thousands of Palestinans are killed and we aren't even close to that yet.

[x] 100% of Palestinians are terrorists.

[ ] The Arabs drove the Jews from their homeland thousands of years ago so it is about time for some payback.

[ ] Israel has killed fewer people than Iran or Iraq which means we are a peaceful state.

[ ] Carpet bombing an entire country is a perfectly rational response to the kidnapping of a soldier.

[x] It's not a concentration camp, it's a safety wall!

[x] The IDF were carrying paintball guns! Really!

Therefore, your claim of [Israel attacking a humanitarian aid flotilla in international waters] is false and we should continue to send money and military support to Israel.

Yours sincerely,

AIPAC

[tuftabis]

Jaga and Pieter,

The aim of breaking any blockade is to deliver the goods to the recepent for his use. Elementary logic tells that it should be done with the maximal usage of the element of surprise. The convoy arrested yesterday was coming with maximal publicity. This sole trait without discussing the others, shows the aim of the convoy was not to bring help. The aim of the convoy was to farther intimidate Israels right to self -defence.

The convoy was attacked on international waters to use the element of surprise and make the looses minimal.

The longstanding anti-Israeli propaganda campaigne strengthens those political wings inside it, which are responsible for confrontational politics of this state.

The co-existance wing in Israel is very strong and it is up to the Israeli whom they vote for. They loose support, with any action making the people feel they are unsafe. Israel is a tiny bit of land surrounded by enemies. The people think there a little differently than Americans who have vast lands, and waters around them.

I understand the Turks whose ship was attacked feel extremely passionate and united in their feelings and rage and anti-Israeli sentiment. This was part of the convoy's aims. Do you think the Israeli have the right to the same feelings when they feel the existance of their whole country is attacked?

Because AIPAC is let to act and overuse the antisemitism labels, Holocaust etc, it does not mean that anti-semitism in the one-sided critic of Israel does not exist.

I know too little about racial segragation peaking into apartheid to extend this already complicated discussion into this area and both situations are too diverse to compare. From what I know, the reasons the whites in RPA mistreated the non-whites out of racial prejudice, the economical/exestential reasons only secondary. The non-whites responded defiantly in order to reform the republic not to liquidate it. That is why they have succeeded. While in Isreal the racial prejudice does not exist and the aim of current Palestinian government is to liquidate the Israeli state, not to reform it.

[RabiaMuweis]

There is no again, Israel is attacking and killing, we hear some regret of the States that are supposed to support human rights, (do not know what kind of people exactly, we may want a new definition of the meaning of the word: human beings), but without any hint, to condemn Israel , and in the end Israel will investigate the massacre, and would be an impartial investigation. And who believe that Israel will do that.

Most of the dead Turks, and upon the arrival of a ship to the port in Asdom, some settlers, Assaulting people were on board the ship, and attacked the journalists of Al Jazeera, and both have been carrying the news of these who came to help those trapped in Gaza. And there are calls from Bishop Atallah, asking for a priest named Archbishop Capucci, was board the ship, and many many of those who hide Israel's fate from the media.

[pieter]

Tufta, Jaga and Rabia,

This is the view of an American, Zionist jew.
To show a Pro-Israeli version.

The Netherlands,
Pieter

Source: The Jewish star : thejewishstar.wordpress.com/2009/09/23/leiberman-delusions-of-victory/


Lieberman: Delusions of Victory
September 23, 2009 at 12:39 pm

The problem with Arab denial
By Ari Lieberman
Issue of September 25, 2009/ 7 Tishrei 5770



Ari Lieberman is an attorney and a student of Israeli military history. He lives in Brooklyn.

On October 6, 1973, Yom Kippur Day, Egypt and Syria launched a coordinated assault against Israel. Under cover of heavy artillery and aerial bombardment, the Egyptians crossed the Suez Canal and stormed Israel’s neglected Bar-Lev fortifications. Several hundred miles to the north, a thousand Syrian tanks accompanied by anti-tank guide missile squads crashed through the Golan Heights. Facing them were a mere 177 Israeli tanks.
Afte 18 days of bitter fighting, the picture on the ground appeared vastly different from those first precarious days. In the North, the Syrians were in full retreat. Their destroyed and abandoned tanks littered the Golan and the Israelis stood a mere 20 miles from Damascus. The situation for the Egyptians was no better. The bulk of their army was trapped and surrounded by the Israel Defense Forces and there was nothing to stop the Israelis from advancing on Cairo. In fact, the Arab situation was so dire that the Soviets threatened direct military intervention unless Israel stopped its offensive, prompting the U.S. to heighten DEFCON readiness and place its 6th Fleet on alert.
Strangely, October 6 is marked yearly as a holiday in Egypt. There are military parades and patriotic songs play over government controlled radio. Egyptians are taught that the Yom Kippur War, or as they call it, the Ramadan War, was an Egyptian victory. Despite the fact that their army was hopelessly trapped, despite the fact that the IDF was operating with impunity over a large swath of land in Africa, despite the fact that the Egyptians suffered tens of thousands dead and wounded, despite the fact that their Syrian allies suffered equal devastation and despite the fact that the Soviets had to bail them out (again), the Egyptians still call it a victory. Strange, indeed.

IDF forces leaving Sidon

Fast-forward nine years. On June 6, 1982 the IDF invaded Lebanon. Within six days, its forces swept aside PLO and Syrian resistance and were on the outskirts of Beirut, trapping some 7,000 PLO fighters in the Lebanese capital. Within two months, the PLO was expelled from Lebanon and banished to scattered destinations throughout the Middle East. Their humiliating exit from the Lebanese capital was accompanied by celebratory gunfire as if they had achieved a glorious victory. So many bullets were fired into the air that dozens of Fatah terrorists were injured by falling lead. Yasser Arafat even compared the Battle of Beirut to the Battle of Stalingrad. Obviously, nobody had told Arafat that the Russians actually won that battle.


A Syrian soldier smiles as Yasser Arafat shakes hands with a Palestinian fighter during a tour of the front line in Beirut in the early days of the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon

On July 12, 2006, twenty-four years after the First Lebanon War, Israel was again forced to fight a war in Lebanon, this time against a foe called Hezbollah. The war was sparked by a serious Hezbollah border provocation.
After 33 days of fighting, the IDF was in control of every single Lebanese village in the sub-Litani region (from Israel’s northern border to the Litani River near Tyre). Hezbollah lost a third of its elite fighting force and by some estimates, up to a thousand killed in action. Damage to Hezbollah’s infrastructure was equally severe and the billions the terrorist group and its Iranian sponsors spent in developing its military capabilities went up in smoke. Whole Shi’a neighborhoods were obliterated and, despite the passing of three years, the scars of war are still evident throughout Lebanon. Hezbollah was pushed away from the border and the organization was forced to allow the Lebanese Army to deploy there in its place, something its leader, Hassan Nasrallah, vowed he would never allow. Pouring salt on Hezbollah’s wounds, UNFIL (United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon) was enlarged and now included a big European contingent led by French and Italian troops. The new reality meant that Hezbollah could no longer operate with impunity in the sub-Litani region, as this would necessarily invite confrontation with the Lebanese Army and the Europeans. Moreover, Iran and Syria had hoped to utilize Hezbollah as a deterrent against any Israeli strike against those rogue countries. By prematurely provoking a fight with Israel without strategic purpose, Hezbollah, Iran and Syria exposed their hand and gained nothing. The Israeli home front absorbed the worst that Hezbollah had to offer and escaped relatively unscathed.


Hezbollah’s Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah, October 23, 2002

Political commentators, academics and defense analysts have, for the most part, recognized the Second Lebanon war as a strategic loss for Hezbollah and a victory for Israel. Indeed, Nasrallah himself, facing growing domestic criticism, admitted that he vastly underestimated the strength of Israel’s response and stated that he would not have provoked Israel had he known that it would lead to war. Yet shortly after offering this humbling statement, Nasrallah boasted (from his underground hideout) that Hezbollah had scored a “divine victory” over Israel.
What leader apologizes for and doubts the wisdom of starting a war that leads to “divine victory” for his people? Perhaps Michael Young of Lebanon’s “Daily Star” summed it up best when he wrote, “one dreads to imagine what Hezbollah would recognize as a military loss.”


Ismail Haniyeh (born January 29, 1963) is a senior political leader of Hamas and one of two disputed Prime Ministers of the Palestinian National Authority.

In December 2008, just two years after Nasrallah’s colossal blunder, 26 years after the PLO’s humiliating Beirut expulsion and 35 years after Egypt’s disastrous Yom Kippur misadventure, Hamas decided that it, too, wanted to join the Arab humiliation club. It violated an agreed-upon ceasefire by unilaterally firing deadly rocket salvos at Israeli towns. In the three weeks of war that followed, Israel killed 709 Hamas combatants including senior commanders and bomb makers for losses of 9 IDF soldiers, a kill ratio of nearly 80 to 1. Hamas failed to hit a single Israeli tank and its “fighters” chose to run or surrender rather than fight. Yet in the midst of a smoldering Gaza with his guerilla fighters in tatters and scattering in different directions, Ismail Haniyeh emerged from his underground hospital bunker (after Israel had already left, of course) to declare victory over the Zionists.
Once again Israel had scored a major military and strategic victory and once again an Arab leader defied logic and reality by declaring victory over the “Zionist imperialists.”
Aside from being motivated by a hatred of anything not Islamic, these wars demonstrate another common theme: the Arabs live in a state of perpetual delusional fantasy. Their reality is so steeped in fantasy that it almost makes Disney’s Alice in Wonderland appear as reality. But there is logic behind this absurd, seemingly bizarre and irrational behavior.
The Islamic antagonists facing Israel and the West are indoctrinated in a convoluted mixture of radical Islam, extreme fanaticism and a depraved hatred of anything un-Islamic. Some refer to this as Islamofacism. Admitting defeat would require the Arabs to acknowledge that within a sixty-year span, they have been defeated nine times by the non-believing heretics. This, in turn, would undermine the core of their belief system. After all, how could Allah abandon them nine straight times? Unless of course, Allah doesn’t adhere to the corrupted form of Islam they espouse. That would mean that everything they were spoon-fed from birth, all the hate and religious fanaticism, was a lie and their sacrifices were in vain. No virgins awaited them in paradise.
Thus, denial runs deep in the Islamofacist mindset. Seemingly bizarre claims of “divine victory” or ludicrous comparisons with Stalingrad are more than empty rhetoric. They are coping mechanisms designed to deal with a reality they prefer to ignore. Until this bankrupted belief system is rejected by level-headed, moderate Muslims, the Arabs are likely to continue experiencing defeat and likely to continue proclaiming phantom victories while their people live in abject poverty and die by the tens of thousands.

[karl]

May 31, 2010 23:33:43 GMT -7 tuftabis said:

Jaga and Pieter,

The aim of breaking any blockade is to deliver the goods to the recepent for his use. Elementary logic tells that it should be done with the maximal usage of the element of surprise. The convoy arrested yesterday was coming with maximal publicity. This sole trait without discussing the others, shows the aim of the convoy was not to bring help. The aim of the convoy was to farther intimidate Israels right to self -defence.

The convoy was attacked on international waters to use the element of surprise and make the looses minimal.

The longstanding anti-Israeli propaganda campaigne strengthens those political wings inside it, which are responsible for confrontational politics of this state.

The co-existance wing in Israel is very strong and it is up to the Israeli whom they vote for. They loose support, with any action making the people feel they are unsafe. Israel is a tiny bit of land surrounded by enemies. The people think there a little differently than Americans who have vast lands, and waters around them.

I understand the Turks whose ship was attacked feel extremely passionate and united in their feelings and rage and anti-Israeli sentiment. This was part of the convoy's aims. Do you think the Israeli have the right to the same feelings when they feel the existance of their whole country is attacked?

Because AIPAC is let to act and overuse the antisemitism labels, Holocaust etc, it does not mean that anti-semitism in the one-sided critic of Israel does not exist.

I know too little about racial segragation peaking into apartheid to extend this already complicated discussion into this area and both situations are too diverse to compare. From what I know, the reasons the whites in RPA mistreated the non-whites out of racial prejudice, the economical/exestential reasons only secondary. The non-whites responded defiantly in order to reform the republic not to liquidate it. That is why they have succeeded. While in Isreal the racial prejudice does not exist and the aim of current Palestinian government is to liquidate the Israeli state, not to reform it.

Tufta

I believe you have an excellent vision for the truth. It was a set up and professionally executed with the expected response from the Israelis.

It would so seem, the Palestinians have a manner to miss the target of peace, whilst the Israelis have a manner to hit the target of world condemnation.

Karl

[pieter]

Q+A: Are odd couple Turkey and Israel breaking up?
Ibon Villelabeitia
ANKARA
Mon May 31, 2010 10:50am EDT
Related News


Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayip Erdogan and then-Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert had a constructive relationship--until Israel's assault on Gaza in December 2008, an assault Turkey roundly criticized.

Police stand guard in front of the residence of Israeli Ambassador to Turkey Gabby Levy during a pro-Palestinian protest in Ankara May 31, 2010. REUTERS/Stringer

Police stand guard in front of the residence of Israeli Ambassador to Turkey Gabby Levy during a pro-Palestinian protest in Ankara May 31, 2010.


Israel appointed Turkey-born Gabby Levy as ambassador in Ankara

ANKARA (Reuters) - A raid by Israeli commandos on a Gaza-bound aid convoy has plunged already crumbling ties between Israel and its long-time Muslim ally Turkey to a new low.

World | Turkey

The killing of more than 10 activists, reportedly including several Turks, on a Turkish vessel stirred protests in Istanbul.

Ankara, which had supported the pro-Palestinian convoy, has reacted with fury, cancelling joint military exercises, recalling its ambassador to Israel and successfully calling for an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council.

The fallout could have repercussions for U.S. policies in the region.

Below are some questions and answers on how the raid can affect Turkey-Israel ties.

IS THIS THE DEATH KNELL FOR TURKEY-ISRAEL TIES?

Israel and Turkey have a long and close military alliance and economic relationship. Bilateral trade reached $2.5 billion in 2009, with Turkey buying military hardware from the Jewish state. Analysts say their relationship, though complex, offers too many advantages to both countries to be forsaken easily.

Turkish and Israeli officials have in the past said they will remain allies as long as their interests are aligned.

The two countries share intelligence on common security threats such as al Qaeda. However, since the Islamist-leaning AK Party of Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan took office in 2002 relations have been strained, notably as Turkey deepened ties with fellow Muslim countries, including Iran and Syria.

With Turkey's prospects for joining the European Union growing more elusive, some analysts have wondered whether Turkey was turning East instead of West under Erdogan.

HOW IS TURKEY LIKELY TO REACT?

Turkey has warned of possible "irreversible consequences in our relations." With public anger seething, Erdogan is likely to take a harsh line against Israel.

Erdogan became a hero across the Islamic world for publicly criticizing Israeli policy toward Palestinians. With an election due by July next year, and opinion polls showing high unemployment has dented support, a strong stand against Israel could go down well with voters.

HOW WILL THE FALLOUT AFFECT U.S. POLICY IN THE MIDDLE EAST?

The alliance between Turkey and Israel, two regional military heavyweights, has been a boon to U.S. diplomacy in the Middle East. Any breakdown would complicate the equation.

The United States has long sought Turkey's soft power as a secular, democratic Muslim state to counter Islamist militancy in the region.

Turkey has been a major player in Arab-Israeli peacemaking and mediated indirect talks between Syria and Israel. The talks were suspended after an Israeli incursion into Palestinian-run Gaza in January 2009, and prospects for renewing those talks seem dim.

While welcoming Turkish mediation with Syria, Washington has clashed with Turkey over how to tackle the Islamist Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip. Washington wants to isolate Hamas, while Ankara feels the Islamist group should not be excluded.

HOW DID IT GET THIS BAD?

Analysts say ties deteriorated sharply after Israel's Gaza offensive, which Erdogan called a crime against humanity and prompted Turkey to bar Israel from participating in a NATO military exercise. Erdogan further alienated Israel by hosting Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and referring to him as a "good friend." Israel was angered by Turkey's attempts to mediate in Tehran's nuclear dispute with the West, arguing such steps undermined international efforts to isolate Tehran. Analysts have also said anti-Semitism in Turkey is on the rise after the war in Gaza.

[pieter]

Israels ambassador in Ankara, Gabby Levy, said Israel was pleased about Turkey’s role between his country and the Palestinians. "The Western countries send money to the Palestinians, but Turkey brings lasting solutions by establishing industrial areas," he said.

[pieter]

Israel–Turkey relations



Turkey-Israel relations were formalized in March 1949 when Turkey became the first Muslim majority country (before Iran in 1950[2]) to recognize the State of Israel. Since then, Israel has been a major supplier of arms to Turkey. Military, strategic, and diplomatic cooperation between Turkey and Israel were accorded high priority by the governments of both countries, which share concerns with respect to the regional instabilities in the Middle East. Nevertheless, diplomatic dialogue between the two nations has recently become strained, particularly following the 2008-2009 Israel-Gaza Conflict.

History

A key moment in Judeo-Turkic relations occurred in 1492, when more than 150,000 Spanish Jews fled the Spanish Inquisition, many to the Ottoman Empire. At that point in time, Constantinople's population was a mere 70,000 due to the various sieges of the city during the Crusades and the so-called Black Death of the 14th century, so this historical event was also significant for repopulation of the city. These Sephardic Jews settled in Constantinople as well as Salonika, which came to be known as "Mother Of Israel" due to its overwhelming Jewish majority.

Turkey also served as a transit for European Jews fleeing Nazi persecution during the 1930s and 1940s, although it was implicated in the Struma disaster.

Strategic cooperation


Khaled Mashal (born 1956) has been the main leader of Hamas—a Palestinian political, social, and paramilitary organization—since the assassination of Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi in 2004. In addition, Mashal heads the Syrian branch of the political bureau of Hamas.

Despite cool relations since the accession of the Justice and Development Party in Turkey, the Israeli Foreign Ministry characterized its relations with Turkey as "perfect" in the beginning of 2006. After Khaled Meshal paid an official visit to Turkey, Turkish-Israeli relations entered a "cooling down" process. Some have suggested that this was only a public relations stunt to show the Islamic world that Turkey was on their side because Turkey had been silent in major issues important to Arabs and the Islamic community like the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and the Lebanon crisis.


Ofeq 9 satellite

Talks regarding the sale of Israeli Ofeq satellites and Arrow missile air-defence systems to Turkey have taken place, pending United States approval. The systems would be a generational leap for the Turkish military and intelligence capabilities.


Turkish F-4 Phantom fighter yet

Israel has been a major supplier of arms to Turkey, and Israeli firms have been responsible for modernizing the F-4 Phantom fleet of the Turkish air force. Their agreements include cooperation in the "domains of air, sea, land, intelligence; and the manufacturing of aircraft, armaments and missiles," and "prepares the way for mutual military visits, training and exercises, dispatch of observers to oversee military exercises, staff exchanges and military know-how."

Diplomatic relations


Arkadas Association in Israel

Israel maintains two diplomatic missions in Turkey: Its embassy is located in the Turkish capital, Ankara, and its Consulate General is located in Turkey's biggest city, Istanbul. The Israeli ambassador to Turkey is Gabby Levy, and the Israeli consul-general is Moshe Kamhi. These missions are responsible for Israeli consular affairs for the Marmara, Aegean, Eastern Thrace and western part of the Black Sea regions of Turkey.


Israeli President Shimon Peres and Turkish President Abdullah Gül

On a three-day visit to Ankara in November 2007, Israeli President Shimon Peres met with Turkish President Abdullah Gül, and addressed the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, the first time an Israeli President has addressed a Muslim country's parliament. Peres and Gul differed on what action was to be taken regarding Iran's nuclear program, Peres publicly saying that he didn't believe energy-rich Iran was interested in nuclear power. Gul said that he would work to free the abducted Israeli soldiers Gilad Shalit, Ehud Goldwasser, and Eldad Regev.


Gilad Shalit


Ehud Goldwasser


Eldad Regev

Economic relations

In 2000, Israel and Turkey signed a free-trade agreement. Israel exports an annual $1.5 billion in goods and services to Turkey, and imports more than $1 billion. There is a plan to build a massive pipeline from Turkey to supply water, electricity, gas and oil to Israel. On January 1, 2000, Turkey and Israel signed the "Turkish Israeli free trade agreement" making it the first Muslim country to sign such as an agreement with the Jewish state. Turkey and Israel also signed an agreement to construct a pipeline to bring oil, natural gas, water, and electricity to Israel from Turkey.

The strong relationship between Turkey and Israel has angered the Arabs. Turkey has attempted to maintain an image of neutrality on the topic of various Arab issues such as the Palestianian-Israeli conflict and Lebanon. The Israeli Mossad also played a role in arresting the PKK leader, Abdullah Ocalan.

Military collaboration

* Modernization of Turkey's F-4 Phantoms and F-5 aircraft at a cost of $900 million.
* Upgrading 170 of Turkey's M60A1 tanks for $500 million.
* Popeye-I and Popeye-II missiles.
* 400 km (250 miles) range Delilah cruise missiles.
* Popeye-II surface-to-air missiles for $150 million.
* Arrow anti-ballistic-missiles. (Agreed by Israel. Approval of the United States is awaited.)
* 400 km (250 miles) range Delilah cruise missiles. (Negotiation)
* The agreement provides exchange of pilots eight times a year; allows Israeli pilots to practice "long range flying over mountainous land" in Turkey's Konya firing range; and permits Turkish pilots to train at Israel's computerized firing range at the Nevatim airfield.(Nechmani, 1998: 24; Pipes, 1997 34)
* The two navies conducted maneuvers during Operation Reliant Mermaid (the U.S. also participated) in January 1998.

Arab Israeli conflict

A joint Israeli-Palestinian industrial park is being developed under Turkish aegis. Israeli President Shimon Peres and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas addressed the Grand National Assembly of Turkey a day apart to discuss resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and greater Arab-Israeli conflict weeks before the 2007 Mideast peace conference at Annapolis, Maryland. Peres said that "Turkey is an important player in the Middle East in relation to the United States, Syria and the Palestinians, as well as us." According to the Jerusalem Post, a spokeswoman for the Syrian Foreign Ministry indicated to a Kuwaiti newspaper that "Turkey is used as a channel of communication" between Syria and Israel.

In October 2009, in connection to the crisis following the Turkish denial of Israel's participation in the Anatolian Eagle military exercise in Turkey, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu objected to Turkey as a mediator, and claimed "Turkey can't be honest broker," between Syria and Israel.

Criticism of Israeli policy


Former Hamas leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin

After the 1967 war, Turkey joined Arab nations in condemning Israeli actions. While it called for Israel to withdraw, it did not refer to Israel as an "aggressor state". In December 1987, after the commencement of the Palestinian intifada, Turkey denounced "Israeli oppression", and supported the Palestinians’ right to self-determination. In 2004, Turkey denounced Israeli assassination of Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, as a "terrorist act". It also described the Israeli policy in the Gaza Strip as "state-sponsored terrorism." The Turkish government's condemnation of Israel's military campaign in Gaza in 2009 strained relations between the two countries. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan called on Israel to halt its military operations in Gaza and described Israel's actions as a "crime against humanity." There were also widespread demonstrations across Turkey against Israelis actions in Gaza. At the 2009 World Economic Forum in Davos, the Turkish prime minister stormed off the stage after a heated exchange with Israeli president Shimon Peres. Recep Tayyip Erdogan clashed with Shimon Peres, whose voice had risen as he made an impassioned defence of Israel's actions, jabbing his finger. Mr Erdogan said Mr Peres had spoken so loudly to conceal his "guilt". He accused the moderator of not allowing him to speak and said he did not think he would return to Davos. In the debate, Mr Erdogan was cut off as he attempted to reply to Mr Peres. Weeks after the ceasefire, relations between the nations further deteriorated. Earlier the Turkish Prime Minister had made an address himself, describing Gaza as an "open-air prison". When the audience applauded Mr Peres, he said: "I find it very sad that people applaud what you said. You killed people. And I think that it is very wrong." The moderator, Washington Post columnist David Ignatius, had given him a minute to reply, then asked him to finish, saying that people needed to go to dinner. In response, Major-General Avi Mizrahi advised the Turkish Prime Minister to "look in the mirror." He stated that since Turkey still occupied Northern Cyprus, it had no right to criticize Israel. He went on to raise the Turkish Republic's oppression of its Kurdish minority and brought up the Armenian Genocide. Soner Cagaptay of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy noted that shortly after the Davos incident, Erdogan hosted the Vice President of Sudan, who is being indicted for his role in the Darfur genocide. Cagaptay brings up this fact to note that Erdogan's action at Davos were less about humanitarian concern than they are about what Cagaptay calls a "civilizational view."

Israel-Turkey relations after the Gaza war

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan heavily criticized Israel's conduct in the Gaza war at the 2009 World Economic Forum conference in Davos.

On October 11 2009, relations were strained even further when Israel was barred from Anatolian Eagle military exercise in Turkey. The aerial exercise was to consist of Turkey, Israel, the United States, and Italy. However, Turkey refused to allow Israel to attend. In response, the United States pulled out of the exercise.

Another deterioration in October 2009 was noted following the TV debut of Ayrılık (Farewell), a prime-time serial on Turkish state-sponsored television channel TRT 1 featuring fictionalized scenes of Israeli soldiers shooting Palestinian children and mistreating elderly Arabs. Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman criticized the program, and rebuked the Turkish Ambassador in front of assembled media. He subsequently apologized in the face of a Turkish threat to withdraw its ambassador.

In January 2010 Israeli politicians and media outlets condemned an episode of the popular Turkish soap opera, "Valley of the Wolves: Ambush," on private Star television that depicted the Israeli intelligence service Mossad spying inside Turkey and kidnapping Turkish babies. The program also showed Mossad attacking the Turkish embassy in Tel Aviv and taking the ambassador and his family hostage. On 11 January 2010 Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon summoned Turkish ambassador Ahmet Oguz Celikkol to a meeting, At the session, Celikkol was seated below Ayalon. With cameras rolling, Ayalon turned to his aide (without knowing the television crews were filming) and said, "The main thing is that you see that he is seated low and that we are high ... that there is one flag on the table (the Israeli flag) and that we are not smiling."


Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon and Turkish ambassador Ahmet Oguz Çelikkol

Gaza flotilla attack

After Israeli Navy's raid on Turkish Gaza aid ship on 31 May 2010, the tension between the two countries mounted. Many of the aid workers were Turkish and several of the ships taking part to the demonstration had the Turkish flag. The Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan described the raid as "state terrorism". He said that Israel "has shown that it does not want peace in the region" and has "violated international law". Turkey recalled its ambassador from Israel, and summoned the Israeli ambassador to demand an explanation. During an emergency session of the Security Council, Turkey urged the UN to punish Israel for its actions. A Turkish Foreign Ministry written statement stated that "we strongly condemn these inhuman practices of Israel. This deplorable incident, which took place in open seas, and constitutes a fragrant breach in international law, may lead to irreparable consequences in our bilateral relations". Turkey warned that all future aid vessels would be escorted by the Turkish Navy.