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Turkish court issues arrest warrants, hampering Israel-Turkey reconciliation
A court in Turkey’s capital Istanbul yesterday issued arrest warrants against four former-Israeli military commanders. The two countries have been expected to soon conclude an agreement to restore bilateral ties after diplomatic relations were severed in the wake of the 2010 Mavi Marmara incident.
The previously warm relationship between Israel and Turkey deteriorated after the deaths of nine Turkish citizens who were killed whilst trying to prevent Israeli commandos taking over a Gaza-bound protest ship, the Mavi Marmara. However, ongoing talks between diplomats from both sides are thought to have taken place over the past several months. Israel had reportedly agreed to pay compensation to the families of those killed, prompting an anticipated reconciliation and restoration of ties. Last month, in an interview with Charlie Rose on PBS, Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that, “We have come to an agreement” adding, “I think we’re talking about days, weeks.”
However, yesterday’s announcement is at odds with such optimism. Perhaps the most important component of the proposed reconciliation deal for Israel is an agreement by Turkey to drop all claims against Israeli officials. Yesterday’s court order calls on Interpol to issue a “Red Notice” for the arrest of former-IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi, ex-Navy Commander Eliezer Marom, ex-Air Force Commander Amos Yadlin and ex-head of Air Force intelligence head Avishay Levi. Yadlin dismissed the court’s decision yesterday, telling Reuters, “I won’t be visiting Turkey, just like I won’t be visiting Syria, Iran or North Korea.”
The timing of the court’s announcement is thought to have been influenced by the recent death of a tenth Turkish citizen wounded on the Mavi Marmara, who had been in a coma for four years. In Israel, Maariv says that the court’s ruling was purely political. Yediot Ahronot suggests that the court is doing the bidding of Prime Minister Erdogan. However, writing in Maariv, Ben Caspit says that the court’s decision was influenced by Erdogan’s opponents.