Turkey was quick to respond: the Turkish foreign minister said that the Israeli ambassador’s return to Ankara is unwelcome and that Turkey is going to appeal to The Hague International Court and suspend its relations with Israel in a whole number of fields. Moreover, Turkey warned that it might increase its military presence in the Mediterranean to prevent the Israeli fleet from conducting training exercises that put civilian ships travelling in the region in danger. The statement went on to say that Turkey’s prime ministrer is going to visit the Gaza Strip to promote Turkey’s relations with Hamas – an organization recognized as terrorist by the EU and some other states.
Israeli officials recognize that it’s the worst period in Israeli-Turkish relations since 1981, but there is a large number of opinions on possible future developments. According to the worst prognosis, this deterioration in relations with a country that has been a close strategic partner of Israel for the past several years will result in considerable drop in Israel's defensive capabilities, as well as cause a ‘domino effect’ and make Israel’s relations with Egypt and Jordan even worse.
Optimists, however, say that this deterioration of relations with Turkey won’t affect Israel at all. They reason that military cooperation between Israel and Turkey effectively ended a year ago, so nothing could get worse in this field. According to these optimistic experts, Turkey has no influence on global politics, or, for that matter, on regional politics as well. They point out that Erdogan hadn’t achieved a single goal on the international stage so far: Turkey still isn’t a EU member; it has failed to convince the world’s powers to recognize the Turkish state on Cyprus; Turkey couldn’t ameliorate its relations with Armenia despite US support, as well as being unable stop NATO from attacking Gaddafi; and finally, Turkey couldn’t replace Egypt as the chief mediator between two leading Palestinian groups, the moderate Fatah and the aggressive Hamas.
Therefore, these politicians advise the Israeli government not to worry about their relations with Turkey and develop partnerships with Greece, Cyprus and other Mediterranean states as well. They also advise Israel to create friendly relations with ex-Soviet Muslim states, such as Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan.
The Israeli government says that it is ready to restore relations with Turkey if Turkey also agrees to compromise. Right now, the UN and the EU are pressuring both Israel and Turkey to forget their disagreements and restore friendly relations on the basis of compromise, as the Palmer commission report suggests.
However, there are some Armenian partisans among Israeli politicians and they are trying to use the situation for their benefit, for example, they insist on recognizing the fact of the Armenian genocide. It is quite possible that the forces supporting a Kurdish separatist movement within the Israeli government will also try to benefit from the situation.
The Gaza flotilla raid was a military operation by Israel against six ships of the "Gaza Freedom Flotilla" on 31 May 2010 in international waters of the Mediterranean Sea. The flotilla, organized by the Free Gaza Movement and the Turkish Foundation for Human Rights and Freedoms and Humanitarian Relief (İHH), was carrying humanitarian aid and construction materials, with the intention of breaking the Israeli-Egyptian blockade of the Gaza Strip. The government of Israel and others have alleged that the flotilla was organized as a provocation or media stunt.
On August 2, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced that the U.N. would conduct an investigation into the incident. Geoffrey Palmer, former Prime Minister of New Zealand, presided over the Committee. The report was published on September 2nd 2011 after being delayed, reportedly to allow Israel and Turkey to continue reconciliation talks.The Palmer Commission concluded that Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip was legal, but stated that “Israel’s decision to board the vessels with such substantial force at a great distance from the blockade zone and with no final warning immediately prior to the boarding was excessive and unreasonable.” The commission recognized that the IDF were met with “organized and violent resistance from a group of passengers” upon boarding the vessel and therefore force was necessary for purposes of self defense, but stated that “The loss of life and injuries resulting from the use of force by Israeli forces during the take-over of the Mavi Marmara was unacceptable.”
