TURKISH FM CRITICIZED THE ISRAELI GOVERNMENT FOR KEEPING THE REGION UNDER CONSTANT TENSION

PanARMENIAN.Net
17.11.2009 18:07 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu criticized the
Israeli government for keeping the region under constant tension
with the use or threat of military force and said Tel Aviv’s current
policies are apparently in conflict with Turkey’s vision of peace
for the region. "Unfortunately the Gaza onslaught by Israeli defense
forces against Palestinian civilians had halted all ongoing peace
processes, including the Turkish mediated Syrian-Israeli indirect
talks," he lamented.

He warned that the continuing expansion of Israeli settlements in
Palestinian territories has been a source of tension between Turkey
and Israel for many years. Settlement is also a major concern for many
world powers including the US, the European Union, and Russia, all
of which have called for an immediate halt to all illegal settlement
expansion by the Israeli government.

As for the controversial status of Jerusalem, the Turkish foreign
minister said, "We do not recognize that Jerusalem is the capital
of Israel and believe that East Jerusalem is Palestinian territory,"
pointing out the fact that the Turkish Embassy is located in Tel Aviv,
which Turkey considers the official capital of the Jewish state.

Dismissing anti-Semitic accusations as baseless, Davutoglu stressed
that the Turkish government’s position is not directed against the
Israeli public or the Israeli state but rather aimed at the policies
adopted by the Israeli government. "We have no problem with the Israeli
state or the public," he remarked. The Turkish foreign minister pointed
out that despite recent tension with Israel, Turkey has not withdrawn
its ambassador from Tel Aviv.

Commenting on the exclusion of Israel from a NATO military exercise
Turkey hosted last month due to the ongoing humanitarian tragedy in
Gaza, Davutoglu said Ankara had waited until the last minute to make
the decision to bar Israel because Turkey was waiting on the result
of US President Barack Obama’s meeting with Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netenyahu. "If there was progress during that meeting, we
could have allowed Israel to participate in the military exercises,"
he said, Today’s Zaman reported.