Tel Aviv believes Ankara is easing ‘Hamas’ activities against Israel.
After feeling that Turkey was beginning to mitigate ‘Hamas’ activities against Israel from Istanbul, the Israeli government decided to respond ‘in a limited way’ to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s attempt to normalize relations between the two countries. In this context, a senior political source in Tel Aviv said Israel has turned to ‘softening’ frozen relations.
Israeli President Yitzak Hertzog will accept an invitation from his Turkish counterpart next month and travel to Ankara to meet with Erdogan, the source said. Political figures told the newspaper ‘Haaretz’ on January 30th that the Israeli government is struggling to draw a clear direction towards progress in relations with Turkey in the near term due to the ‘poor history of these relations and the sudden fluctuations they have witnessed from time to time’. In Tel Aviv, a strong fear rose during different negotiations at the Foreign Ministry, naftali Bennett’s government and security services recently. So much so that Tel Aviv believes that Erdogan’s goal in improving relations is to ‘provide assistance to save his country from the severe economic crisis it has witnessed’, while According to Israel, Turkey’s relations with Israel will change again when another political crisis erupts between the two countries.
According to the information obtained by Sharki’l Avsat, the political figures said there was consensus among representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the National Security Council and mossad (foreign intelligence agency) to question President Erdogan’s intentions. They also reminded us how Turkey has behaved in the context of the events since the media war against Tel Aviv in 2010 after Israeli naval commandos attacked the Mavi Marmara ship. Until 2018, a diplomatic crisis erupted as Ankara criticized Israeli bombings of the Gaza Strip. Turkey has also expelled its ambassador to Israel.
Israelis, however, said Turkey was keen to maintain trade, economic and tourism ties during the crisis years. They also said that Erdogan’s son played an active role in these relations through the shipping company he ran. The company is turning the port of Haifa into the main station for trade with Jordan and through it with Arab countries.
Following positive talks between President Hertzog and Erdogan, the detention and release of two Israeli tourists was a reference to the friendly relations with Ankara. Erdogan held two meetings with Israel’s new president, calling Hertzog because of his election as president and the death of his mother. Earlier, Hertzog thanked Erdogan for freeing israeli tourists. There were also talks between Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, who expressed his thanks to Erdogan, and between Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and his Israeli counterpart Yair Lapid. So much so that Cavusoglu asked Lapid, who had contracted the coronavirus, what his health was like.
More importantly, however, Israeli officials believe Turkish authorities have made a serious effort in recent weeks to curb Hamas’ activities in Turkey. Israeli officials described the efforts as ‘a positive indication of Erdogan’s seriousness in improving relations’. “Erdogan is showing very positive signs about the fight against terrorism against Hamas activists in Turkey. This is important. Because from our point of view, this is one of the main issues that deters us from developing our relations; Hosting Hamas.”
Hertzog has not publicly commented on his possible meeting with Erdogan. Bennett, however, said in an interview with Israeli newspapers over the weekend that he supported such a summit meeting. “I doubt Turkey’s intentions and I am not under any illusions about what happened during the crises in Gaza. We know these movements well.”
