BICOM

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyep Erdogan is due to visit Egypt next week, in a trip which coincides with the deepening crisis in relations between Ankara and Jerusalem. Erdogan is set to discuss a strategic cooperation agreement with the current Egyptian government on military, diplomatic and economic issues. There are unconfirmed reports that the Turkish prime minister may enter Gaza as part of the visit.

On Friday, Turkey announced a series of measures against Israel, following Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s clarification that Israel would not issue a full apology for the deaths on the Mavi Marmara ship in 2010. These measures included the expulsion of Israel’s ambassador to Turkey, and the downgrading of diplomatic representation to second secretary level. Turkey also pledged that its navy would escort civilian vessels carrying humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, in a statement by Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu.

Yesterday, an emergency cabinet meeting was held by PM Netanyahu in response to Turkey’s measures following the issuing of the Palmer Report. Following the meeting, a statement was released by the Prime Minister’s Office which said that Israel expressed regret for the loss of life, but that it would not apologise for defending itself. Netanyahu also said he hoped ‘that a way will be found to over come the disagreement with Turkey,’ as a deteriorition in relations is not in Israel’s interest.

Nevertheless, in related news, today some 40 Israelis on board a Turkish Airlines flight from Tel Aviv to Istanbul were separated from the rest of the passengers upon arrival in Turkey and were questioned at length by Turkish police. According to the report in Haaretz, the police took the Israelis’ passports upon arrival and questioned each person individually. Only after prolonged questioning did the Israelis receive their passports back and were freed to go. The highly unusual event indicates the dettorating enviroment between the two countries and the deepening diplomatic crisis.