Israel Matzav

More proof Netanyahu got suckered by Obama

It's now been three weeks since Prime Minister Netanyahu was suckered into apologizing to Turkey's Islamist dictator, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, by President Hussein Obama. So far, all indications are that Netanyahu was suckered.

Diplomatic relations between Israel and Turkey have not been restored, and are unlikely to be restored for the foreseeable future. That's because Erdogan is insisting that Israel fully lift its blockade of Gaza before Turkey restores its ambassador to Israel, and Israel cannot do so without endangering its security (Hat Tip: Joshua I).

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Saturday that Turkey will not send an envoy to Israel -- as part of a recent move for normalization of ties between countries after an Israeli apology for a deadly naval raid -- before the blockade on the Gaza Strip is lifted. 

Erdoğan reiterated Turkey's stance on the issue and said Israel must lift the blockade before a full restoration of diplomatic ties can take place, including the return of a Turkish envoy to the Israeli capital.

Moreover, Turkey has once again vetoed Israeli participation in a NATO forum (Hat Tip: Dan F).

Turkey, Tunisia and Egypt rejected plans to hold a meeting of NATO’s Mediterranean Dialogue group, Turkey’s Hurriyet Daily News reported on Saturday. Israel is one of the Dialogue group’s seven member-nations.

The Mediterranean Dialogue group for Foreign Ministers – which also includes Algeria, Jordan, Mauritania and Morocco – has not met since 2008, according to Hurriyet.

A Turkish official told Hurriyet that the meetings had not been held because of political problems between Israel and Arab member-nations.

Israel’s Prime Minister’s Office had no comment.

That apology sure accomplished a lot, didn't it? Bibi, we've been had. 

Labels: Barack Hussein Obama, Binyamin Netanyahu, NATO, outrageous apologies, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkish obsession with Israel

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 2:51 PM