Unlike other Muslim countries, Turkey has shared close ties with Israel through various points in history. It was one of the first to recognize Israel and it has a strategic, military and even agricultural relationship with it.  During the first AKP era, relations with Israel were friendly; especially on the matters of economic and military partnerships which were flourishing. However, after the second AKP era, relations have got progressively gotten worse. The alliance further deteriorated following the undiplomatic move made by Israeli Danny Ayalon when he sat the Turkish ambassador on a lower seat so that he appeared “beneath” Israel, a move that came after anger sprung up over Turkish TV shows depicting Israel in a negative light.

What has happened to these allies to make them resort to such pettiness?

Gaza Attacks The driving force behind the slope in relations between Turkey and Israel were the Gaza attacks. Israel garnered much criticism after its attacks on Gaza under the pretext of rocket attacks towards its own territory. The use of phosphorus bombs by Israel shows the seriousness of the situation. Due to those attacks, many civilians, including children, are dead and as a result Israel lost any remaining sympathy amongst Middle Eastern countries. It was an unacceptable excuse that a powerful country like Israel was not able to stop rocket attacks against its territory without killing civilians. Yet, the Gaza attacks were not the main reason behind the Turkish government’s behavior towards Israel; those attacks were merely the reason that gave the AKP government the permission from the U.S.  to criticize Israel.

The U.S. Plans in the Middle East It is a known truth that the words of friendship and partnership do not carry considerable weight under the international relations concept. The Israeli attacks on Gaza damaged its effectiveness in the Middle East and also damaged any plans the U.S. had in the Middle East for Israel.  After the attacks, it was decided by the United States to promote Turkey in the Middle East and for Turkey, it would be much easier to play a more active role in the area than Israel. However, there was a missing ingredient in the plan: it was trust. Due to the close relations Turkey shared with Israel for all those years, Turkey definitely suffered from a lack trust amongst Middle Eastern countries. This was the chance for the ideology that is behind the AKP government to emerge; they received the permission from the U.S. to criticize Israel in multiple areas. Following the Davos incident, the AKP government realized that its behavior towards Israel had a positive effect for them in the elections. After the elections, the AKP government turned its relations with Israel into a subject of domestic politics. The AKP government, who did not say anything about the Iraq or Afghanistan invasions, became the defender of Muslim society in Gaza.

Israel Began to Feel Threatened In the beginning, although it felt disturbed, Israel showed an easygoing and polite manner towards the AKP government because they did not feel threatened by them. However, after Ahmet Davutoglu became foreign minister, Turkey began to pursue neo-Ottomanist policies in the Middle East by removing visas and having closer relations with the countries in the area. Israel now began to feel threatened by Turkey’s presence in the area. First, Israel tried diplomatic ways to solve the problem and made the necessary warnings through its institutions and its media. After those unsuccessful warnings, Israel  attempted to use an undiplomatic reaction to Turkey through its Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs; Danny Ayalon (he made the Turkish ambassador sit on a lower chair and made a scene in front of the Israeli media). As a result of this, Israel lost its just position on the TV show issue and the situation became a diplomatic crisis; one that has been solved through a formal apology from the Israeli government.

Suggestions to Both Sides The silent attitude of the U.S. means that the plans laid out for Turkey constitute the priority right now. After every crisis with Israel, Turkey gains more and more trust in the area. Following the latest crisis, Al Akhbar , a newspaper in Lebanon, defined Erdogan as a padishah (Ottoman sultan )and stated that only Turkey can make Israel understand. But despite all these developments, strategically important areas still do not trust Turkey. When we look at Iran’s rejection of the uranium storage offer from Turkey, it seems this strategy needs more time than the U.S. initially planned for. In order to gain more trust and sympathy in the region the AKP government should raise its voice and not only to human rights violations committed by Israel but those violations committed by others too; especially the ones committed by the U.S. in Iraq and Afghanistan. It should stop using its relations with Israel to gain votes. Despite all of the trust issues in the Middle East, it is clear that Turkey is much more effective in the region and this effectiveness visibly bothers Israel. However, instead of struggling with Turkey, Israel should question its Gaza policies which led it to become the bad boy of the Middle East in front of the world’s eyes; it should end the humanitarian tragedy in Gaza.  It would not be too much to ask from a country whose people suffered from the biggest crime against humanity.

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