HERMINE HOVHANNISYAN
circumstances is a humiliation for us ." 102 Islamist sentiments resulted in the gradual deterioration of Israeli-Turkish relations . One of the manifestations of this deterioration is the opening of a full diplomatic mission of the Palestinian Liberation Organization ( PLO ) in Turkey in 1979 . Furthermore , in 1980 , Ankara recalled its ambassador ( as did Israel ) after the military coup in Turkey . Relations on the ambassadorial level were restored only a decade ago . 103
Nevertheless , the 1990s were a golden age for Israeli-Turkish relations . The milestone of the decade was a series of military agreements signed between them , due to which these two countries became strategic partners . 104 But the heyday of the Israeli-Turkish relations came when the AKP took power in Turkey in 2002 . Though the latter defines itself as a " conservative democratic " party , there is speculation that it has a hidden Islamic agenda . 105 A number of events soured and weakened bilateral relations further , particularly Operation Cast Lead , also known as the Gaza War in 2008-2009 . The war began with the invasion of Israel Defense Forces ( IDF ) in the Gaza Strip and the bombardment of the Hamas government office , mostly targeting the urban population and civilian infrastructure . 106 The Turkish position on this issue was extremely critical . Turkey ' s President Erdogan was deeply embarrassed as two days prior to the operation he hosted Israel ' s Prime Minister in the framework of the negotiations for a peace treaty with Syria mediated by Turkey . However , Erdogan had not been informed about the pending operation . 107
The culmination of the decline of bilateral relations was the Mavi Marmara incident in 2010 as a result of which cooperation between them broke down in all spheres with the exception of trade . 108 In other words , this was " the worst crisis in the history of Turkish – Israeli relations ." 109 In May 2010 , the Turkish-owned Mavi Marmara ship was attacked by
102
Necmettin Erbakan , The Basic Problems of Turkey , ( Ankara : Rehber Yayincilik , 1991 ), 89 .
103
Yavuz , “ Turkish-Israeli Relations Through the Lens of the Turkish Identity Debate .” 104 Bengio , Gencer , “ Old Grievances , New Fears : Arab Perceptions of Turkey and Its
Alignment with Israel .”
105
Angel Rabasa and Stephen F . Larrabee , “ The Rise of Political Islam in Turkey ” in The Rise of Political Islam in Turkey , ( Santa Monica , CA ; Arlington , VA ; Pittsburgh , PA : RAND Corporation , 2008 ), 31-50 .
106
Sergio Catignani , ” Variation on a Theme : Israel ' s operation cast lead and the Gaza strip missile conundrum ,” The RUSI Journal 154 , no . 4 , ( 2009 ): 66 – 73 . 107 Bernard Gwertzman , “ Gaza and Stains in Israel-Turkish Relations ,” interview by Steven
A . Cook , CFR , January 19 , 2010 , https :// www . cfr . org / interview / gaza-and-strains-israeliturkish-relations . 108 Uzer , “ Turkish-Israeli Relations : Their Rise and Fall .” 109 Almog and Sever , The Mavi Marmara : An Embattled Voyage and Its Consequences , 62 .
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