The Israeli elite is split when it comes to relations with Turkey: On one side stand Vice Prime Minister Moshe (Bogey) Ya'alon and Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman. As far as they are concerned, the current state of affairs does not warrant an apology to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. They believe that even if the government chooses that option, IDF troops will still face the nightmarish scenario of being prosecuted abroad. Prime Minister Netanyahu is now at a crossroads. He has reduced this to one key point: the extent to which the Israeli move would shield Israeli naval commandos from prosecution under international law. Israel has been willing to express "regret" over the death of the nine Turkish nationals onboard the Mavi Marmara vessel in 2010, but Erdogan insists Israel "apologize." It is unclear what he is willing to offer in return. The first group claims that yielding to Turkey's demands will achieve nothing. Although Erdogan would forgo the prosecution of IDF soldiers if Israel apologizes, others would still be able to pursue that course of action. Most importantly, this would not change Erdogan's hostile diplomacy toward Israel. The only sure thing is that the Turkish ambassador will get to sit on the high chair he was denied in that famous meeting with Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon more than a year ago when Israel wanted to protest Turkish policy. The opposing view holds that while there is no guarantee against lawsuits, it is likely that such a scenario would materialize anyway. Also, so they say, improving relations with Turkey would be a welcome development in any case. But how much of this rapprochement would go in Israel's favor? Surely, there is no going back to the strong cooperation the two countries enjoyed before Erdogan; instead, defense establishment officials envision renewed economic and systemic ties. Ya'alon and Lieberman are concerned that the Turkish government will not abandon its hostile stance toward Israel, adopted well before the 2010 Gaza flotilla. Ya'alon and Dr. Joseph Ciechanover -- Israel's envoy to the U.N. panel investigating the 2010 flotilla events -- have held three rounds of talks with their Turkish counterparts in Geneva, Rome and New York. Ya'alon came back with a feeling that "we are running around in circles." Yet the others believe any move toward improving relations should merit a show of remorse and regret for the death of unarmed individuals onboard the
n the other side are Defense Minister Ehud Barak, Deputy Prime Minister Dan Meridor, Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein and perhaps even National Security Adviser Yaakov Amidror. They are willing to let Ankara have its way, not because Turkey is right but because such a gesture would benefit us.
This is now a pressing matter, with only five days to go before the U.N. panel issues its report. Both sides are anxiously awaiting its findings. The report will probably declare Israel's naval blockade of Gaza to be legal but will most likely say the IDF used excessive force onboard the ship. This would be a poor denouement for both sides. If indeed the differences cannot be overcome, as well-intentioned people on both sides claim, perhaps the only means to strike an agreement ahead of the report is in the form of a well-organized, yet hastily arranged, summit between Netanyahu and Erdogan. They have nothing to lose.
טעינו? נתקן! אם מצאתם טעות בכתבה, נשמח שתשתפו אותנו
