Gov’t does not foresee swift warming in ties despite Ben-Eliezer’s visit

The Turkish government does not consider the visit of Israeli Trade and Infrastructure Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer as an opportunity to restore the damaged ties between Turkey and Israel, as no change in Israeli policies toward Palestinians was observed.

Ben-Eliezer became the first Israeli minister to visit Turkey after the Davos spat between Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Israeli President Shimon Peres in January over Israel’s deadly Gaza operations. Relations further deteriorated after Ankara barred Israel from joining an international military exercise held in its territory in September.

Holding a meeting with Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu late on Monday afternoon, Ben-Eliezer is also scheduled to meet with Defense Minister Vecdi Gönül on Tuesday. The two ministers will also co-chair a Turkey-Israel joint economic commission meeting. It’s not yet certain whether President Abdullah Gül will receive Ben-Eliezer.

According to Israeli daily Haaretz, Ben-Eliezer’s message to Turkish officials is clear: Israel views Turkey as a mediator with Syria but it must first demonstrate a return to the normal relations that existed with Israel before deterioration in ties began in early 2009.

Turkish officials do not read the current picture the same way, but on the contrary outline their own pre-conditions to review bilateral ties.

“First, Israeli policies do totally contradict our country’s vision for the future of the Middle East. The second thing is that it was the Israelis who stopped all peace processes: the talks with Syria, the Annapolis process…” a government official told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review.

What Turkey searches for is a stable and prosperous region where all countries solve their problems through peaceful means and cooperate in all fields to create new social, cultural and economic links.

“Resuming talks with Palestine and easing living conditions in Gaza and elsewhere in Palestine is very important. In fact the United States and Europeans should be content with our policy: Our goal is to have the peace talks resume. That’s why we are applying pressure,” the same official said.

Turkey’s last-minute decision not to allow Israeli jets take part in an annual military exercise caused concern in the United States, which is seen as the architect of the Turkish-Israeli strategic relations born in the mid-’90s.

“There are more comments published in the Israeli media about the risk of losing Turkey. It should be seen as a warning for Israeli officials,” the official said.

Recalling that Turkish-Israeli ties were very good a year ago while Ankara was mediating between Israel and Syria, the official said what upset that balance was Israel’s military incursion into Gaza. “It was also a violation of a verbal agreement that the situation in Gaza and Lebanon would remain calm during the mediation.”

For Turkey, there are three points that will never change in its Israel policy: “East Jerusalem is Palestine’s territory and its capital; al-Aqsa is a holy place for all Muslims into which Israeli police raids are unacceptable; and finally, the state of Palestine is a living state like the state of Israel and its living space should not be narrowed.”

That’s why news that Israel continues to build more residential areas within the Palestinian territories is seen as a matter of concern in Ankara and was surely among the issues raised during the meeting between Davutoğlu and Ben-Eliezer.