ISRAEL ANGRILY REJECTS TURKISH LEADER’S CHARGES

Associated Press Online
January 12, 2010 Tuesday 2:10 PM GMT
Jerusalem

Israel has responded angrily to Turkey’s latest criticism of the
Jewish state, saying the Turks should be "the last to preach morality"
and scolding their ambassador in a highly publicized snub.

Turkey’s ties with Israel have been strained by Turkish Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s fierce criticism of the Jewish state’s use of
force against Palestinians.

For years Israel’s isolation in the overwhelmingly Arab Mideast had
been eased by good ties with predominantly Muslim Turkey. In 2008,
it mediated several rounds of indirect talks between Israel and Syria.

But the alliance began to fray after Israel’s three-week military
offensive in the Gaza Strip early last year.

Erdogan, who heads an Islamist-oriented government, set off the latest
round of acrimony by accusing Israel of being a threat to world peace
and using disproportionate force in the Gaza war. The operation was
launched against Gaza militants, but hundreds of Palestinian civilians
were among the more than 1,400 dead.

"We can never remain silent in the face of Israel’s attitude. … It
has disproportionate power and it is using that at will, while refusing
to abide by U.N. resolutions," Erdogan said in Ankara Monday at a
joint news conference with Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri.

Israel lashed back by insisting it had "the full right" to protect
itself against Islamic Hamas militants in Gaza, which had bombarded
Israel with thousands of rockets for years before the offensive,
and against Lebanese Hezbollah guerrillas who struck Israel with
4,000 rockets during their 2006 war.

"The Turks should be the last to preach morality," Israel’s Foreign
Ministry said in a statement late Monday, an apparent reference to
Turkey’s past conduct against Armenians, Kurds and Greek Cypriots.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry rejected that criticism, saying Turkey
has always been a friend to Jews.

"Deep-rooted relations between Turks and Jews that precede the
establishment of the Israeli state and the general structure of
our relations give us the responsibility to make such warnings and
criticism," it said in a statement.

On Monday evening, Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon
summoned the Turkish ambassador to criticize a Turkish television
drama depicting Israeli security forces as kidnapping children and
shooting old men. Another show broadcast last year also portrayed
Israeli security forces as brutal.

As the meeting started, Ayalon told cameramen the ambassador was
pointedly seated on a sofa lower than his own chair. He also noted
there was no Turkish flag on display and that Israeli officials
weren’t smiling.

Asked before the meeting whether he would shake hands with Ambassador
Ahmed Oguz Celikkol, he replied, "No. That’s the point."

Because Israel is so concerned about the deteriorating ties with
Turkey, there was much criticism Tuesday of Ayalon’s blunt conduct.

Cabinet Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer of the Labor Party, who has
been trying to repair ties, called it "uncalled for" and "humiliating."

Speaking to Army Radio, Ayalon refused to apologize. "It’s the Turks
who need to apologize," for both Erdogan’s remarks and the TV shows,
he said.

The Turks summoned Israel’s ambassador Gabriel Levy on Tuesday "to
express unease and seek explanation," Turkey’s state-run Anatolia
news agency said.

Turkey’s public fury with Israel peaked a year ago at the World
Economic Forum conference in Davos, Switzerland, where Erdogan
stormed off a stage he shared with Israeli President Shimon Peres,
after telling him, "you kill people."

Turkey later scrapped a military exercise involving Israel. Israeli
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ruled out Turkey’s resuming its
role as mediator in Israel-Syria talks, which broke down with little
tangible progress after the Gaza war.