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A lot is being talked about #Turkey in light of President #Erdogan's populist views and recent decision of UAE to recognize Israel.
Here is a thread about Israel-Turkey relationship and why current Turkish view is leaning against Israel:
Here is a thread about Israel-Turkey relationship and why current Turkish view is leaning against Israel:
Turkey recognized Israeli state in 1949 and established a diplomatic mission in Tel-Aviv a year later. It became first Muslim country to do so mainly because Turkey, then, was ruled by secular dictators and the political elite had misgivings about Arab revolt against Ottomans.
The Israeli attack on its Arab neighbors in 1967 strained its relations with Turkey. Full annexation of Palestine after the six day war was condemned. However, low level relations continued as Turkey was more focused on threat from Soviet Union during cold war.
Israelis were happy to have some relations with Muslim nations. They found such relations with despots and western puppets ruling Muslim states. Iran under draconian rule of Reza Pahlavi was a major Israeli ally, while its relations with Turkey were rather limited in scope.
The Turkish-Israeli relations strained again in 1980 when Israel declared Jerusalem as its "eternal capital". This included occupied East Jerusalem which was annexed from Arabs during Israeli attack in 1967. The diplomatic relationship was downgraded by Turkey to minimum level.
After cold relations throughout 80s, the Turkish-Israeli relations started to warm up in 1988. It was the time when Israeli-Palestinian talks to find a peaceful solution were starting. These talk led to famous Oslo Accords.
With diplomatic activity in full swing for peaceful settlement between Israelis and Palestinians, Turkish-Israeli relations entered in a golden age. In 1993, Tansu Ciller became first Turkish PM to visit Tel-aviv. Strategic co-operation and trade agreements were signed in 1996.
The advent of #Erdogan and AK party to power in 2002 saw continued efforts to build the tied between two states and people. Erdogan visited Israel in 2005 while Shimon Perez became first Israeli to address parliament of a Muslim nation when he was honored by Turkish Majlis.
A tectonic shift came in 2008 with Israeli bloackade and attack on Gaza. The barbarity in Gaza generated outrage across the world, Turkey was not immune. Turkey had seen good economic growth under Erdogan and was now a confident nation that can assert itself.
An iconic moment came in 2009 when #Erdogan slammed Israeli president Peres in Davos. He said "Well, you killed people! I remember the children who died on the beaches!" after more than 1,000 Palestinians were killed by Israeli bombing.
Erdogan became a hero of Muslim masses.
Erdogan became a hero of Muslim masses.
Turkey sent humanitarian aid to Gaza in 2010, which was still under Israeli siege. Israelis attacked #MaviMarmara, the ship carrying members of NGOs full with medicines and food. 10 civilians were killed by Israelis.
Erdogan termed the attack as "state terrorism".
Erdogan termed the attack as "state terrorism".
The relations normalized after Netanyahu apologized to Turkey in 2013. While the trade flourished between both countries, the turmoil in the region meant that both nations were now on different strategic paths.
Two factors resulted in diplomatic clashes between both countries: oil and gas in eastern Mediterranean and diverging views on democratic setups in the region after Arab spring.
While Turkey gained a lot with Muslim Brotherhood coming to power in democratic Arab world - forming an "axis of democracy". Israel saw these democracies as strategic threats. Democracies in Muslim world generally are against Israel due to its aggressive policies.
Israel formed alliance with Gulf monarchies to topple the democratic regimes in Arab world. Their biggest prize was removing Morsi in Egypt and replacing him with Sisi. This was a huge loss to Turkey. Eventually, the trajectories of both nations diverged further.
With discovery of Oil and gas in eastern Mediterranean, Turkey found itself competing with Israel over rights of drilling. Israel along with Egypt and Greece ganged up against Turkey in this war for share of natural resources.
Turkey countered the Israeli-Egyptian moves by supporting UN recognized govt of Libya. Israel, Egypt and Gulf monarchies had been aiding warlord Haftar in the Libyan civil war. Turkish entry in this theater resulted in severe setbacks to Haftar and his supporters in 2020.
While it is clear that national interests define diplomatic relations, the Turkish-Israeli relations have also been dependent on Israeli behavior towards Palestinians. This factor has become prominent as Turkey became more democratic over time.
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