The announcement of new military and economic agreements between Turkey and Egypt on the tails of Ankara cutting ties with Israel is a coincidence insists Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who told the media the move is not an act of revenge against Israel. It would appear that Erdogan is not ready to totally eradicate all relations with Israel.

With former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak out of the picture Turkey was able to close a deal with Cairo, a deal it wished to secure some time ago, but was always met with objections from the former president.

Erdogan also pointed out that the announced cutting of ties was only significant regarding government agencies and deals, not the private sector, apparently still unwilling to lose the lucrative trade and tourism resulting from relations with Israel.

In Israel however there are calls to sever ties with Turkey, as well as calls to launch a tourism boycott of that country. In a related matter, Israeli security officials have issued a travel advisory, recommending against Israelis visiting Turkey at this time, for any reason, including leisure and/or business.

As a result of Erdogan’s move, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is coming under a fair share of criticism by many, including coalition members, who feel the government should have found the acceptable formula to apologize to Turkey to avoid the current diplomatic crisis with the former staunch ally. One audible opponent is Defense Minister Ehud Barak.

Proponents of the government’s refusal to issue an apology point out that recent statements against Israel from senior Turkish officials are sufficient for any level-headed person to understand exactly where Turkey really stands vis-à-vis Israel, and in fact these feelings have now surfaced, which is ultimately to Israel’s benefit.

And there are the political analysts who point out that recent events, the turmoil seen in Arab countries in the region including Libya, Syria and Egypt, have compelled Erdogan to reassess and plan for the future. To date, Turkey has been viewed as a secular Islamic nation but it is possible analysts point out, leaders feel compelled to reevaluate the nation’s position towards finding an acceptable position in the new regional Arab world order that is still in its infancy. This new reality would not include maintaining warm diplomatic relations with Israel.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)