Israel hopes to normalise ties with Turkey soon, say officials

[webfact]

Israel hopes to normalise ties with Turkey soon, say officials



"Israel hopes to normalise ties with Turkey soon, say officials"

JERUSALEM: -- Israeli officials say efforts to restore full diplomatic ties with Turkey must now wait until a new government is formed in Ankara.

Relations were badly damaged after a deadly raid by Israeli forces on a Turkish aid ship bound for Gaza in 2010.

The on-going sea blockade of Gaza by Israel still remains a key sticking point, but Israel’s top diplomat in Turkey is hopeful a deal will be struck.

“We have something like eight or nine hundred trucks coming into Gaza on a daily basis and this number can be extended if needed and we are more than willing to enable Turkey to play that role. So the sea blockade is actually a non issue in our eyes, in our view. And I believe that we already are beyond this point of disagreement with the Turkish authorities,” said Shai Cohen, Israel’s Consul-General in Istanbul.

In 2013, Israel apologised for the raid by its naval commandos on the Mavi Marmara.

It has also promised to compensate the families of the nine victims killed on the flotilla which was taking aid the Palestinian territory.


-- (c) Copyright Euronews 2016-05-11

[canopus1969]

Two basket cases

[wabothai]

Apologies and compensations mean nothing if ALL the cowards are not jailed for a very long time. The attack can be seen the same as an attack on a hospital. We will not forget.

[Johnpound46]

I don't think reconciling with Israel is very high on Erdogan's list of priorities. He simply doesn't have the time, what with him being so busy trying to become the new sultan of Turkey, throwing everyone that dares to criticize him in jail for years, wiping out the Kurds, turning Turkey into an Islamic state, supporting IS and sticking it to the EU for refusing for so long to let Turkey join.

[DaddyWarbucks]

"Israeli officials say efforts to restore full diplomatic ties with Turkey must now wait until a new government is formed in Ankara."

That would have to be a new government receptive to diplomatic overtures from Israel. Not many people can see that happening anytime soon.

Israel's best hope for good diplomatic relations with other countries is to live within their internationally recognized 1967 borders and stop the land grabs by illegal settlers.

Until that happens Israel will continue to face condemnation worldwide and not just by Turkey.

[Steely Dan]

Apologies and compensations mean nothing if ALL the cowards are not jailed for a very long time.

The attack can be seen the same as an attack on a hospital.

We will not forget.

Hospital patients don't arm themselves with knives with the express intention of harming the staff, nor do they check in hoping that will further the cause of a known terrorist organization.

Next.

[Morch]

I don't think reconciling with Israel is very high on Erdogan's list of priorities. He simply doesn't have the time, what with him being so busy trying to become the new sultan of Turkey, throwing everyone that dares to criticize him in jail for years, wiping out the Kurds, turning Turkey into an Islamic state, supporting IS and sticking it to the EU for refusing for so long to let Turkey join.

Erdogan's list of priorities is rather simple - 1. Erdogan 2, Turkey ascendant. The two seem to be interchangeable as far as he's concerned. Before someone chimes in with "Caliphate" - to a degree that it serves the first and maintains the second, thus making it less central.

All other issues appear to be judged and prioritized accordingly. So mending things with Israel is not a goal by itself, but a geo-political (or ego-political) means to an end. As Erdogan put it - "“Israel is in need of a country like Turkey in the region. We have to admit that we also need Israel,” (http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkey-and-israel-need-each-other-says-president-erdogan.aspx?pageID=238&nID=93319&NewsCatID=338).

Erdogan's talent of coming to odds with any potential ally is well known. Consequently, Turkey is relatively isolated on the diplomatic front, and pulls less Middle Eastern strings than it could. There are few ways in which patching things up with Israel could help him score points - marketing it as an Israeli "surrender" to the original terms, getting Israeli concessions regarding Gaza Strip which will include Turkish involvement, and perhaps a piece of the future Mediterranean gas profits. The first is achievable considering Erdogan's control of domestic media. The second, less likely to fully conform with Erdogan's wishes, especially the more dramatic bits. The third - unclear, so far still mainly potential profits.

Erdogan might be a problematic partner as far as Israel is concerned, but guess beggars can't be choosers. Doubt that the military cooperation will return to the earlier days. given Turkey showing signs of shifting toward a less secular future.

To take things in perceptive, politics aside, bilateral trade relations are still good, and in some sectors, better than ever,

If I had to take a guess - things will be sorted to a degree, but the proverbial bucket will be kicked again soon thereafter.

[Morch]

"Israeli officials say efforts to restore full diplomatic ties with Turkey must now wait until a new government is formed in Ankara."

That would have to be a new government receptive to diplomatic overtures from Israel. Not many people can see that happening anytime soon.

Israel's best hope for good diplomatic relations with other countries is to live within their internationally recognized 1967 borders and stop the land grabs by illegal settlers.

Until that happens Israel will continue to face condemnation worldwide and not just by Turkey.

See my earlier post which includes Erdogan's comments.

Government ain't what it used to be in Turkey, pretty much a one man show in the making:

Recep Tayyip Erdogan seeks limitless power

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan last week pushed out Ahmet Davutoglu, the prime minister he himself had handpicked, seemingly to clear his way towards the untrammelled one-man rule he has sought since he moved from the premiership to Turkey’s presidency two years ago. Conventional wisdom says Mr Erdogan is surrounding himself with loyalists. But the man he has just defenestrated is a loyalist.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/1c644da6-16ba-11e6-9d98-00386a18e39d.html

How Erdogan Moved to Solidify Power by Ousting a Pivotal Ally

In pursuit of more power, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey has purged the judiciary of enemies, jailed journalists and crushed anti-government protests. Now, he has ousted his closest political ally, the country’s prime minister, Ahmet Davutoglu, whose modest effort to check Mr. Erdogan’s ambition was too much for the president.

Mr. Davutoglu, publicly loyal to Mr. Erdogan even as he pushed back privately on some of his excesses, said Thursday that he would step aside as the leader of the Islamist Justice and Development Party, or A.K.P., and give up his position as prime minister.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/06/world/europe/ahmet-davutoglu-turkey-prime-minister.html?_r=0

The overtures are not unilateral. Trade relations are good. Erdogan played a card that sort of worked at the time (for a time), but this being the Middle East, maybe it's time to shuffle the deck.