RUPTURE FEARED IN ISRAEL-TURKEY RELATIONS

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Jan 13 2009
OR

Gaza violence could spill over onto U.S. Middle East policy

Editor’s Note: The following report is excerpted from Joseph Farah’s
G2 Bulletin, the premium online newsletter published by the founder
of WND.

Israel’s offensive in the Gaza Strip could affect its relationships
with Turkey, impact U.S. Middle East policy and even push Turkey
closer to Iran, which supports Hamas in Gaza, security experts say,
according to a report from Joseph Farah’s G2 Bulletin.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has decried Israeli action
in the Gaza Strip, accusing the Jewish state of "perpetrating inhuman
actions which would bring it to self-destruction. Allah will sooner
or later punish those who transgress the rights of innocents."

Although Turkey is a non-Arab Muslim nation, it has been one of
Israel’s closest allies in the region.

For years, it has had a close military cooperative arrangement which
has included Israeli renovation of Turkish tanks, joint naval and air
force maneuvers, weapons sales and the use of Israeli technology to
police Turkey’s porous borders.

At the same time, Turkey has close economic and military ties with
Iran. While their history has pitted them as rivals, they have growing
trade relations and are negotiating expanded energy cooperation.

Because of the links to Iran, Erdogan has offered to the incoming
Obama administration to be a mediator with Tehran.

Such an offer may not last, because Obama and his security team have
declared the 1915 killing by Turkey under the Ottoman of more than
600,000 Armenians to be genocide. The Turkish government adamantly
opposes the view.

In addition, according to security experts, outright Turkish opposition
to the U.S. could occur in light of the Israeli attack on Gaza,
which the U.S. did not oppose.

While Israel may not have sought approval prior to introducing troops
into Gaza, the experts said that the U.S. did not oppose the initial
aerial bombing of Gaza prior to launching its ground offensive.

The Bush administration is adamant in placing blame for the latest Gaza
conflict on Hamas for the continued launching of rockets into Israel.

Hamas claims the attacks occurred due to continued Israeli blockade of
the entrances into the Gaza Strip, preventing humanitarian assistance
from reaching its 1.4 million Palestinian inhabitants.

But Israel charges that avenues for resupply of humanitarian assistance
also are being used to bring in weapons into the Gaza Strip from Iran
and other locations.

Turkish reaction to Israel’s military action in Gaza, if it remains
at the current level, could have a severe impact on efforts toward a
Middle East accommodation, given that Turkey is a long-time conduit
for discussions between Israel and Syria.