Israeli authorities are expecting Turkey to launch a diplomatic and legal campaign against Israel after the Jewish state decided not to apologize to Ankara over a deadly flotilla takeover on May 31, 2010 that resulted in the deaths of eights Turks and one Turkish-American.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu informed US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in a telephone conversation on Tuesday that his government would not offer an apology to Turkey over the May 31 raid, dashing hopes for reconciliation between the two former allies.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Wednesday it would be impossible for Turkish-Israeli ties to improve unless Israel apologized and paid compensation for the killings on the Mavi Marmara, which, as part of an international convoy, was trying to breach an Israeli blockade of Gaza.
Officials at the Israeli Foreign Ministry have said Turkey now intends to move on to “Plan B,” which will include an anti-Israel campaign at UN institutions and legal action against senior Israeli figures in European courts, Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported on Thursday.
Another Turkish step is expected to be increased support for Palestinian efforts for UN recognition of statehood when the Palestinian administration proposes at the UN a measure to that effect in September.
The diplomatic relations between the two countries are also likely to suffer further blows. There has been no Turkish ambassador to Israel for over a year and the deputy chief of mission who has been acting as the ambassador is also to leave in few weeks, with little prospect that he will be replaced. The Israeli ambassador in Turkey is also supposed to leave, but Israeli officials worry that Turkey will not give diplomatic approval for a new ambassador from Israel once the current envoy leaves.
The Israeli decision comes days before the release of a UN report on the deadly raid. A UN committee investigating the raid is expected to release its report next week, after several postponements to provide a chance to Turkish-Israeli diplomatic efforts to restore relations.
According to Haaretz, Israel will not close the door on reconciliation efforts and will consider resuming negotiations with Turkey after the release of the UN report, which is expected to endorse the Israeli blockade of Gaza as legal. Turkey says the blockade is against international law.
“The report gives a lot of support to Israel, even though there was also criticism, and [the report] is very bad for Turkey,” a senior official involved in talks with Turkey on reconciliation told Haaretz. “We aren't closing the door. After the report is released and we get some diplomatic and public diplomatic benefit from it, we can return to the negotiating table with Turkey under improved conditions, and then the whole issue of the apology will be viewed differently,” the official said.
Though Israel seeks further negotiations until the release of the report, Turkey is unlikely to be willing for more talks. “The parties concerned know what measures we will take if the UN report is released without an agreement [between Turkey and Israel],” Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu said on Wednesday. “The parties, including the US, know [of these measures].”
US pressureThe United States has long been pressing for Turkish-Israeli reconciliation, saying deterioration in their ties harm US interests in the region. The Obama administration has pressed the Israeli government to apologize to Turkey in a bid to help restore their ties.
“The US has long supported an improved relationship between Turkey and Israel,” said Victoria Nuland, a state department spokeswoman. “We believe that an improved relationship is not only in their interests but in the interest of the region and the US.”
She noted, however, that the Turks, who object to the report's conclusions, are expected to become more entrenched in their positions, while Netanyahu would have a hard time apologizing after the UN report recommends merely expressing sorrow.