UPDATE 14 January: On Wednesday evening, Israel’s Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon sent a letter of apology to the Turkish Ambassador to Israel, Ahmet Oguz Celikkol.
Ayalon wrote: “The disputes between Israel and Turkey will be solved in a respectful and mutual manner between the two governments. There was no intention to humiliate the ambassador personally. I apologize for the way Israel’s protest was presented.”
The Turkish media reported Wednesday that Ankara has recalled its ambassador to Israel on Wednesday after Jerusalem said it would not issue a second, formal apology for Deputy Foreign Minister Daniel Ayalon’s treatment of the Turkish envoy.
“This is the final decision on the matter,” said a senior Foreign Ministry official earlier Wednesday. The decision was made during consultations between the Foreign Ministry and the Prime Minister’s Office, officials said.
Turkish ambassador to Israel Ahmet Oguz Celikkol will depart at 10:30 A.M. on Thursday. It is unclear when, or if, he will return.
On Tuesday, Ankara called in the Israeli Ambassador to Turkey, Gabby Levy, to clarify the statement of Israel’s Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon’s, “The Turks are the last ones who can preach morality to Israel.” The message was clear: Turkey wanted a public apology from Ayalon.
Relations had been inflamed when Turkey’s Ambassador, Ahmet Oguz Celikkol, had been received in Israel’s Parliament, the Knesset, with the press taking pictures of him sitting “lower” than Ayalon. Indeed, those pictures were taken as Celikkol waited outside the meeting room. Ayalon then said: “I won’t apologize. It’s the Turks who should — for what [Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip] Erdogan said and for the television series [allegedly slandering Israeli officials and denigrating the Israeli flag]….We are merely setting boundaries.”
On Sunday, Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman met Israel’s foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Shimon Peres, and Industry, Trade and Labor Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer.
Barak said: “We’re always happy to see him. I hope we have fruitful talks here.” He and Suleiman talked about the “central role” of Egypt in talks with Palestinians, Egypt’s wall on the Gaza border preventing smuggling, the Iranian “threat”, and the kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit.
The most striking part of the visit came true at the end of the meeting between Lieberman and Suleiman. Lieberman stated that “Egypt has more to fear from Iran than we do.” He added, “The greatest danger in the Middle East today is Iran, which is a greater threat to moderate Arab nations than to Israel. Tehran is attempting to duplicate the model of Hezbollah in Egypt, Jordan, and Yemen.”
On Saturday, Egypt’s Al Ahram newspaper reports that Israeli-Syrian peace talks will resume in the first half of 2010 with Turkish mediation. According to the newspaper, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is going to visit Syrian President Bashar Assad on 22 December where Syria s expected to present Israel’s acceptance of the arrangement.
However, criticism of Turkey continues in Israeli newspapers. In The Jerusalem Post, Sarah Honig argues that Turkey is still seen as a lokum — a “Turkish delight” confection — by Israeli leaders. She questions Trade and Industry Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer’s praise for Turkey and Israel’s changing position on the relaunch of peace talks under Turkish mediation. The article in full:
‘Turkey has a very special place in my heart and special relationship with Israel… Turkey can bridge the gaps between us and our neighbors and help promote normalization and coexistence in the region” – Trade and Industry Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer in Turkey last week. Read the rest of this entry »
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has confirmed that Israel has requested that Turkey resume its mediation of peace talks. He said Monday, “We are willing to mediate between the two countries and contribute to the political process in the region, and hope that we will begin a new era on the Palestinian issue and in everything connected to peace talks in the region.”
According to sources, the first step of reconciliation is a formal visit of Turkish President Abdullah Gul to Israeli President Shimon Peres, who was harshly criticized by Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan during the Davos Summit in January.
In a meeting with Israel’s Industry, Labor and Trade Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer, the Turkish deputy prime minister, Bulent Arinc, said that Turkey-Israel relations must improve: “The diplomatic relations between the two countries have known ups and downs, but they must stabilize.” In response to Arinc, Ben-Eliezer said that “the Israeli people want to return to good relations with Turkey”.
Speaking to Ma’ariv, Israel’s Industry, Trade, and Labor Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer (Labor Party) said over the weekend:
In the current sociopolitical situation, only a leader from the Right could pass a peace process through the nation.
[Prime Minister Menachem] Begin returned the Sinai. Could a Labor leader do that? Could a Labor leader have dared evacuate Gaza and destroy the settlements?
[Prime Minister Yitzhak] Rabin was killed just for Oslo [1993 accords with the Palestine Liberation Organization]. Does anyone think I could have evacuated Gaza? Only a leader from the Right could bring such a change. There is nothing we can do. That’s the reality. Take it or leave it.
In Ben-Eliezer’s mind, the relationship between Israeli right and left is almost independent from each other. The left can show no progress while the right has given all the “concessions” for the sake of the peace process. Indeed, he accused Labor of having a “self-destructive virus” and of failing to develop a new generation of leaders.
Ben-Eliezer praised Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the close relationship between the premier and Defense Minister Ehud Barak: Read the rest of this entry »
It appears that a significant split is opening within the Israeli Government.
On Sunday, Israel’s Industry, Trade and Labor Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer departed with 20 businesspeople for a three-day visit to Turkey. Before his departure, he signalled that Ankara could return to a position as mediator of Israel’s conflict: “As a regional power and Muslim democracy, Turkey has the ability to bridge the gaps between us and our neighbors and bring about normalization and co-existence in the region.”
However, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman harshly opposed any plan bringing Ankara back to the table. Lieberman said, “I don’t think that Turkey’s position as a mediator between Israel and Syria can be restored in light of [the Turkish leadership's] slurs against Israel and its statements about preferring a Sudanese murderer to Israel’s prime minister.”
10 p.m. Hamas has started paying out compensation in cheques, rather than cash, to families whose houses were destroyed in Israeli attacks. About 2700 families have received 4000 euros ($5000).
Because of the shortage of banknotes in the area, it is unclear if the cheques can be cased.
UPDATE 14 January: On Wednesday evening, Israel’s Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon sent a letter of apology to the Turkish Ambassador to Israel, Ahmet Oguz Celikkol.
On Sunday, Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman met Israel’s foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Shimon Peres, and Industry, Trade and Labor Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer.
On Saturday, Egypt’s Al Ahram newspaper reports that 
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has confirmed that Israel has requested that Turkey resume its mediation of peace talks. 
Speaking to Ma’ariv, Israel’s Industry, Trade, and Labor Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer (Labor Party) 
It appears that a significant split is opening within the Israeli Government.
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