Turkey threatens to cut ties with Israel

Neil

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Turkey ratcheted up tension with Israel on Monday, warning it will sever ties unless Ankara gets an apology for the raid on an aid convoy to Gaza but the Jewish state said it will never say sorry for defending itself.

Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu warned that relations would be cut unless Israel apologises or accepts the conclusions of an international inquiry into the May 31 attack on the Gaza-bound aid convoy,

"They have three options: either they apologise or accept (the creation of) an international (inquiry) commission and its report or relations will be broken," Davutoglu told the Hurriyet newspaper.

Turkey has until now insisted for an international probe into the raid but in a break with that position, Davutoglu said Ankara would not reject Israel's own inquiry if it resulted in an apology and compensation of the victims' families, according to Hurriyet.

"If their own commission concludes that the raid was unjust and if they apologise, that will be sufficient," he said, although he insisted that Turkey wanted compensation from the Jewish state.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ruled out any apology on Friday and a senior Israeli government official said on Monday after Davutoglu's remarks that Israel would never say sorry for defending itself.

"Israel will never apologise for defending its citizens," the official told AFP, echoing Netanyahu's remarks.

"Of course, we regret the loss of life but it was not the Israeli side that initiated the violence," the official said.

Davutoglu stressed that he had presented Turkey's position during talks in Brussels on Wednesday with Israeli Trade Minister Benjamin Ben Eliezer, in what was the first high-level contact since the crisis erupted.

"We will not wait to eternity for an Israeli answer," Davutoglu said.

"If they do not make any move (to meet Turkey's expectations), the process of isolating Israel will continue," he added.

Davutoglu, who spoke to Hurriyet in an airplane coming back from a visit to Kyrgyzstan, also said that Turkey had closed its airspace to all Israeli military flights in reaction to the raid.

"This decision was not taken for only one or two airplanes," the minister said, hinting the closure could be extended to civilian flights as well.

"There is no decision yet for the airspace ban to cover civilian flights. It will be reviewed according to developments," he said.

Last week, Turkey said it had denied overflight permission to two Israeli military airplanes, but authorities said that it was not a generalised ban.

The raid on the Turkish-owned Mavi Marmara ferry killed eight Turks and a dual US-Turkish citizen, prompting Ankara to recall its ambassador from Tel Aviv and cancel three planned joint military exercises.

Relations between the one-time allies had been already strained over the Jewish state's devastating war on Gaza last year, which triggered vehement Turkish criticism.

The Islamist-rooted government in Ankara has also irked Israel with its close contacts with Iran and for hosting in 2006 the leader of Hamas, the radical Palestinian group controlling Gaza.

Turkish-Israeli ties had flourished for years after the two countries signed a military cooperation accord in 1996

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=6912772
 

Neil

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Israel Refuses to Sell Arms to Turkey

srael has declined a request by Turkey to purchase several different military systems, including an anti-tank guided weapon and a missile system for its navy.

The request by the Turkish government was rejected by Israel's SIBAT, the defense assistance and export organization, which is currently reviewing each order on a case-by-case basis.

Turkey said it wanted to buy the Spike non-line-of-site (NLOS) anti-tank guided weapon, the Namer heavy infantry fighting vehicle, and the Israel Aerospace Industries' (IAI) Barak 8 theater-defense missile system for its navy, according to UK-based Jane's Defence Weekly.

Israel did, however, deliver the last of 170 upgraded M60A1 main battle tanks (MBTs) to the Turkish military on April 7 through a joint contract between Israel Military Industries (IMI) and Turkey's Aselsan, shepherded along by Columbia.

The move is seen as a response to Turkey's increasing anti-Israel rhetoric and the pro-Islamic leanings in its foreign and domestic policies.

An Israeli defense official was quoted by the military publication as saying, "Ties with Turkey will never be the way they once were. We are being very careful which systems we sell them, due to the growing Islamic trends in the country."

Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Recep Erdogan harshly criticized Israel during and following its counter terrorism Operation Cast Lead in Gaza, which ran from December 28, 2008 to January 20, 2009.

Since that time, relations between the two countries have steadily deteriorated, a trend reflected in Turkey's decision in October 2009 to bar Israel's Air Force from participating in the joint Anatolian Eagle exercises. Turkey ultimately chose to cancel the drill rather than back down in response to pressure from the United States and Italy, who were also set to participate.

As a result, Israel has also been searching for new air space in which to conduct long-range training exercises, since Turkey has refused the IAF use of its air space. Recently the Defense Ministry has been exploring the possibility of renewing a 2006 agreement to deploy IAF fighter jets in Romania.

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/news.aspx/137115
 

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