Israel, Turkey finally make peace
After six years of crisis, Israel and Turkey mended their relationship this week with a historic reconciliation agreement.
Turkey has been at loggerheads with Israel since May 2010, following the Gaza flotilla raid, during which time it recalled its ambassador, pulled the plug on military cooperation, and unleashed a string of verbal attacks against Jerusalem.
On Monday, the two countries signalled that the falling-out is over, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel declared triumphantly: “Israel has reached an agreement of strategic importance for the State of Israel, for security, for regional stability and for the Israeli economy.”
The agreement was the subject of widespread public interest in Israel, while in Turkey, the development was overshadowed by the deadly attack that took place at Istanbul’s largest airport on Tuesday evening.
To reach the agreement Netanyahu took an unprecedented step, agreeing to compensate the families of 10 anti-Israel activists who were killed when trying to break Israel’s military blockade as part of the flotilla of 2010. Flotilla activists violently attacked Israeli commandos who boarded their boat, and the activists died as a combat situation ensued.
Netanyahu’s rationale for compensating the flotilla activists is that it averts Ankara’s legal proceedings against Israeli commandos for their actions.
The right and the left in Israel slammed Netanyahu for agreeing to the compensation. Naftali Bennett, a government minister and head of the rightist Jewish Home party called it a “dangerous precedent Israel will regret in the future”, and the left-wing Opposition Leader Isaac Herzog wrote: “Every Jewish mother should know that right-wing leaders will compensate those who attack your children.”
Beyond tackling the flotilla issue, the reconciliation agreement makes it easier for Turkey, which sees itself as Gaza’s patron, to send humanitarian supplies to the coastal enclave. It creates an understanding that Turkey will establish a new hospital, power station and desalination facility there.
Referring to conditions like these Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim claimed that Israel’s blockade of Gaza will “largely be lifted under the leadership of Turkey”.
But Israel is emphasising that while rules are being relaxed it will still control what enters and leaves Gaza. Netanyahu said that the blockade will continue as it represents Israel’s “supreme security interest”.
Hamas will continue to operate from Turkey, where its leaders are given VIP treatment by state authorities, but Israel received an undertaking that they will not actually use Turkish territory to plan attacks or collect money for attacks.
“This is an important, even primary, commitment that we have not had up until now,” Netanyahu claimed – though it’s unclear how this will be enforced. Turkey will also stop opposing Israel’s hope of establishing a NATO office.
Turkey is Israel’s oldest – and formerly best – Muslim friend, and had a diplomatic mission in Tel Aviv as early as 1950. Ties between the two countries started on a downward slide a few years before the flotilla incident, as Turkey started to turn towards more Islamist-inclined leadership.
Talking to The AJN, the leading analyst on Israel-Turkey relations, the Hebrew University’s Professor Dror Ze’evi, said to expect a genuine improvement now – but not a return to the golden era or relations.
“It will never get back to what it was before 2005 when Israeli air force pilots and Turkish air force pilots trained together,” said Ze’evi. “But I don’t think it will be a very cold relationship either.”
Nathan Jeffay
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