(Download) "Israel-Ties: Israeli Raid on Aid Flotilla Seen Linked to Turkey's Growing Me Role (Turkey-Report)" by The Weekly Middle East Reporter (Beirut, Lebanon) * eBook PDF Kindle ePub Free
eBook details
- Title: Israel-Ties: Israeli Raid on Aid Flotilla Seen Linked to Turkey's Growing Me Role (Turkey-Report)
- Author : The Weekly Middle East Reporter (Beirut, Lebanon)
- Release Date : January 12, 2010
- Genre: Reference,Books,
- Pages : * pages
- Size : 60 KB
Description
Relations between Turkey and Israel, once close allies, have taken a nosedive since the Israeli war on the militant Hamas group in the Gaza Strip in December 2008 and January 2009. Turkey has since taken a stance harshly critical of Israel's repressive policies against the Palestinians and supportive of the Palestinian cause. Turkish-Israeli relations came under further strain as Ankara strengthened its ties with Syria and Iran, Israel's arch foes. Turkey further angered Israel in May when it signed a uranium exchange agreement with Iran and Brazil that was designed to defuse the West's standoff with Tehran over its nuclear program. Israeli officials dismissed the tripartite agreement as an Iranian trick intended to gain time and delay a UN draft resolution to impose tough sanctions on Iran. Turkey's strong relations with Syria were used to engineer Turkish involvement in the Middle East peace process. Last year, Turkey, by virtue of its strong ties with both Syria and Israel, hosted several rounds of indirect Syrian-Israeli peace negotiations, but no breakthrough was made. The talks have stalled since the 22-day Israeli onslaught on Hamas-controlled Gaza in 2009. Turkey has repeatedly declared that it is ready to sponsor a new round of indirect Syrian-Israeli peace talks if it were asked by the two sides. But Israel, apparently signaling its anger with Turkey's close ties with Syria and Iran, rejected the revival of the Turkish mediation in indirect Syrian-Israeli peace talks. Israeli officials called instead for direct negotiations with Damascus, calls which Syria repeatedly rejected.