The Mossad will never trust Turkey again
I'll bet some of you are wondering why Binyamin Netanyahu continued to cooperate with, and apologized to Turkey after the Turks turned over the name of ten Israeli spies to Iran. Eli Lake has some
reasons why.
The diplomacy in Geneva put in motion Netanyahu’s public apology to Erdogan at the end of President Obama’s visit to Israel in
March 2013,
according to Israeli diplomats. At the time, Netanyahu said on his
Facebook page that he made the gesture in part because of the
deteriorating situation in Syria. Turkey has provided support for the
rebels in Syria, while the Assad regime is supported by Iran.
Another
factor for Netanyahu in his diplomacy with Turkey has been his desire
to stay on good terms with Obama, according to some observers. Elliott
Abrams, who served under President George W. Bush as a senior director
at the National Security Council for the Near East and North Africa,
said, “I cannot believe that Netanyahu thought this effort with Turkey
would work. I think like the current negotiations with the Palestinians,
his main motivation is to remain very close to President Obama and the
U.S. government.”
Despite
Netanyahu’s apology in March, Turkey has not accepted a new Israeli
ambassador in Ankara. The Turks have asked Israel for more compensation
for the victims of families killed in the Mavi Marmara incident.
Meanwhile, U.S. and Israeli officials say the Mossad will never trust
their Turkish counterparts again.
Read the whole thing. Sorry, but sucking up to Obama is a lousy reason to make concessions like that.
Labels: Binyamin Netanyahu, Hakan Fidan, Iran, Iranian nuclear threat, Mossad, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, spying, Turkish obsession with Israel
Turkey's war with Israel escalates
Turkey's Today's Zaman reports that the country may be about to
break another agreement with Israel (Hat Tip:
Joshua I).
The recent media reports
against Turkish National Intelligence Organization (MİT) chief Hakan
Fidan may stem from Tel Aviv's unease about Fidan's intention to cancel
secret agreements between Israel and Turkey that allow Mossad agents to
conduct operations in Turkish airports without any visa requirements or
customs controls, Yeni Şafak daily columnist Abdülkadir Selvi has
claimed.
In his column published on
Tuesday, Selvi stated that in the periods when democratically elected
governments in Turkey did not have full control over the ruling of the
country, through secret agreements, Israeli intelligence service Mossad
has been given authorization to conduct operations in Turkish airports
without facing any restrictions and MİT chief Fidan is preparing to stop
this. Israel's unease about Fidan's intention, Selvi claimed, may lie
behind the accusations against Fidan in the international media.
Selvi
also stressed that in the forthcoming days MİT is expected to apply to
the Prime Ministry for the cancelation of the agreements concerning
Mossad's operations in Turkish airports.
In a column last week, Jewish Press columnist Yori Yanover suggested that Fidan should be assassinated. (It's kind of amazing that the Zaman mentioned that since the Jewish Press is not exactly a prominent Israeli publication). While I have nothing against that idea (so long as whoever does it is not caught), I doubt it would help Israel's position much. Fidan is not the source of Turkey's hatred for Israel.
Erdoğan and
Davutoğlu are.Labels: Ahmet Davutoglu, Hakan Fidan, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkish anti-Semitism, Turkish obsession with Israel
