Amos Yadlin: "Turkey does not need Israel anymore..."

Friday-Lunch-Club

Again Yadlin is 'whispering' to whom-it-may-concern, that to preserve Turkey the secular, 'someone' in Turkey needs to rid the country of the 'radicals' ...

Via WPR in Zaman/ here

The strategic ties between Israel and Turkey are not at the same level they were a decade ago, as the latter is no longer dependent on close cooperation, Israel’s military intelligence chief has said.

The comments by Maj. Gen. Amos Yadlin to the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee reflected wider concern in the Jewish state following a high-profile visit to Turkey by Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Sunday that was meant to help mend the relationship after a sharp diplomatic row.

“Beyond the specific current tension, one needs to realize that the distancing is more fundamental and relates to strategic issues and common interests between Israel and Turkey,” Yadlin was quoted as saying on Tuesday by Ynetnews, an English-language Israeli news portal, during a security briefing to the committee members.

“There are still common strategic issues between Israel and Turkey, but it’s not the same strategic closeness that existed in the past. In the past Turkey acknowledged joint interests, which strengthened the relationship. For example, in the 1990s, the Turks regarded Syria as an enemy. There was a joint enemy. However, over the years Turkey and Syria resolved their differences, and Turkey doesn’t need Israel’s closeness anymore,” Yadlin elaborated.

“In the past they had an interest in securing their Syrian border and therefore their relations with Israel were strong. In the past Turkey strove to come closer to the West, beyond joining NATO,” he said.

The latest crisis between Turkey and Israel, which was triggered by a televised insult against Turkey’s ambassador in Tel Aviv, has underscored the presence of a new paradigm in bilateral relations between the two countries that has been since last winter, when a three-week offensive by Israel in the Gaza Strip left about 1,400 Palestinians dead, most of whom were civilians.

Despite acquiescing to demands from Turkey and apologizing for the insult to its ambassador last week, analysts said it is not yet clear whether Israel will embrace this new paradigm set by Turkey, which says a return to normal in bilateral ties depends on concrete steps by Israel to end the months-long humanitarian tragedy in Gaza as well as a sign of willingness to revive peace efforts in the Middle East.

“They wanted to become a member of the European market, and they thought that relations with Israel would promote them in the American market as well. They got a cold shoulder from the Europeans and couldn’t achieve their goals. In light of this, they changed their policy and are now in the midst of a process of distancing themselves from the secular approach towards a more radical direction,” Yadlin argued. “They are currently in the midst of a fundamental process of moving further away from the secular Atatürk approach, closer to a radical approach,” he claimed.....

Turkey, a member of the NATO defense pact, has a history of military cooperation with Israel and of mediating for the Jewish state with the Arab world. But ties have been shaken by a series of harsh and public criticism from both sides, culminating last week in the televised reprimand in Jerusalem of Turkey’s ambassador."

Posted by G, Z, or B at 12:26 PM

River to Sea
 Uprooted Palestinian