On the surface, it would seem that relations between Turkey and Israel are flourishing once again, two years after the Mavi Marmara disaster, when Israel Defense Forces assaulted a Turkish cruise ship on a humanitarian mission to Gaza, killing eight Turkish citizens and a young Turkish-American.
While diplomatic relations have been downgraded to the level of second secretary, Turkish Airlines, which has been operating four flights daily between Istanbul and Tel Aviv, announced it would increase flights to 32 a week in October. Commercial trade also is up between the two countries, and while new military cooperation has been suspended, old defense contracts have been respected.
Both senior Turkish and Israeli officials insist they want to restore the normal, friendly relations that prevailed before May 31, 2010, when Israeli commandos accosted the flotilla of six passenger and cargo ships in international waters of the Mediterranean.
Continue reading the full copy of this recent Turkey piece for Washington Report on Middle East Affairs.
While diplomatic relations have been downgraded to the level of second secretary, Turkish Airlines, which has been operating four flights daily between Istanbul and Tel Aviv, announced it would increase flights to 32 a week in October. Commercial trade also is up between the two countries, and while new military cooperation has been suspended, old defense contracts have been respected.
Both senior Turkish and Israeli officials insist they want to restore the normal, friendly relations that prevailed before May 31, 2010, when Israeli commandos accosted the flotilla of six passenger and cargo ships in international waters of the Mediterranean.
Continue reading the full copy of this recent Turkey piece for Washington Report on Middle East Affairs.