Ha’aretz, Israel
Feb 15 2009

Turkish army furious over IDF officer’s comments

By Zvi Bar’el

The Turkish military warned yesterday that relations between Jerusalem
and Ankara are in a state that "could compromise the national
interests of both Israel and Turkey." The rare statement on foreign
policy follows the diplomatic row due to Israel’s three-week offensive
in Gaza.

Maj. Gen. Avi Mizrahi – the recently appointed head of Israel’s ground
forces – has questioned Turkish policies toward Kurds and
Cyprus. Turkey yesterday called on Israel’s ambassador to Ankara, Gabi
Levy, to explain Mizrahi’s remarks. Mizrahi, who previously served as
a military attache to the United States, also accused Turkey of
oppressing its Kurdish minority and massacring Armenians during World
War I. Advertisement

The Turkish Armed Forces keep around 30,000 troops in northern Cyprus
after having invaded the island in 1974. Turkey is the only country to
recognize a Turkish Cypriot administration there. Turkey has also
fought a 25-year war against Kurdish separatists, and denies
accusations that it committed genocide against 1.5 million Armenians
during World War I.

Mizrahi has said Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan should
have "looked in the mirror" before slamming President Shimon Peres
last month at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. During
the forum, Erdogan became enraged over being cut off by a panel
moderator after listening to Peres defend Operation Cast Lead. Peres’
defense was prompted by harsh criticism of Israel by Erdogan, who said
to Peres: "You are killing people."

An official in Turkey’s Justice and Development Party told Haaretz
that "the statements of an Israeli general against Turkey and its
prime minister are an unacceptable insult, and we hope that Israel’s
government will publicly distance itself from these remarks."

Mizrahi’s remarks made front-page news in Turkey and were given
prominence in Turkish-language news sites, which described them as
"unusual."

The Turkish prime minister opted for some unusual statements himself
yesterday, when he was pessimistic about the results of the Israeli
election.

"Unfortunately we have seen that the [Israeli] people have voted for
these [rightist] parties, and that makes me a bit sad," Erdogan told
Reuters and two Turkish newspapers in an interview. "Unfortunately the
election has painted a very dark picture."

Anshel Pfeffer and Barak Ravid contributed to this article.