Lieberman: Ben-Eliezer Meeting with Turkey's FM 'Violation of Norms'

01/07/2010 A senior Israeli official's secret meeting with the Turkish foreign minister was apparently held due to pressure from the Obama administration.

Israeli Industry, Trade, and Labor Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer met Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu in Switzerland on Wednesday without first gaining permission from the foreign ministry.

A senior source in Tel Aviv on Thursday confirmed a report in the Turkish newspaper Hurriyet that the White prompted the meeting and coordinated its details with both parties.

Davutoglu took off for Zurich on a private plan to maintain the clandestine nature off the talks, according to Hurriyet. During their two-hour meeting, Davutoglu reportedly reiterated Turkey's demand that Israel apologize for its May 31 raid on the Gaza-bound flotilla that left nine Turkish activists dead.

Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman reacted furiously to reports of the meeting, saying the move had damaged his relationship with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

"The foreign minister takes a very serious view of the fact that this occurred without informing the Ministry of Foreign Affairs," Lieberman's office said in a statement. "This is an insult to the norms of accepted behavior and a heavy blow to the confidence between the foreign minister and the prime minister."

Ben Eliezer, a Knesset member of Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak's Labor party, has over the past few weeks expressed concern over Israel's deteriorating relations with Turkey. Ties between the once-close allies have come close to breakdown following a deadly raid by Israeli commandos on a Turkish-flagged aid ship a month ago.

Wednesday's talks were apparently aimed at repairing the diplomatic damage. The meeting was held with Netanyahu Barak's consent, but Lieberman was kept in the dark.

The Israeli Prime Minister's Office clarified Wednesday evening that Ben-Eliezer had informed Netanyahu about a Turkish request for an unofficial meeting.

The Israeli prime minister saw no reason to prevent such a meeting since there have been various initiatives to establish contact with Turkey in recent weeks with the knowledge of the foreign minister, it said.

The reason Lieberman was not told of this particular meeting was technical, it continued, and added that the prime minister works in complete cooperation with the foreign minister.

Lieberman's right-wing views have made him unpalatable to many of Israel's allies and he has often taken a back seat internationally, leaving high-level diplomacy to Netanyahu and Barak.

Ben-Eliezer's office refused to comment on the meeting, which was the first between and Israeli minister and a senior Turkish official since the deadly May 31 commando raid on a Gaza-bound Turkish ship.

Following Israel's May 31 raid, Ben Eliezer broke with other ministers in demanding an international inquiry into the incident, in which nine pro-Palestinian activists, eight of them Turkish, were killed.

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