Turkey-Israel: A High-Ranking Objection to the "Strategic" Relationship

On Tuesday, speaking at the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Knesset, Israel's military intelligence chief, Maj. General Amos Yadlin, said that Ankara's turn away from secularism and toward more radical Islam had led to a rift between two countries, "They are currently in the midst of a fundamental process of moving further away from the secular Ataturk approach, closer to a radical approach." And, referring to the mutual references of a "strategic relationship" during Defense Minister Ehud Barak's visit to Ankara, Yadlin added, "Turkey no longer needs a close relationship with Israel. There are still joint interests, but not the kind of close relationship today as there was in the past."

Israel-Turkey: Another Visit for the “Strategic” Relationship