Israel–Turkey relations

Israeli–Turkish relations

Israel	Turkey

Israeli–Turkish relations refer to the bilateral ties between Israel and Turkey. Israel–Turkey relations were formalized in March 1949. Turkey was the first Muslim majority country to recognize the State of Israel.

Military, strategic, and diplomatic cooperation between Turkey and Israel were accorded high priority by both countries, which shared concerns with respect to the regional instabilities in the Middle East. According to a New York Times report in 1999, the strategic partnership between the two countries had the potential to alter Middle East politics: Trade and tourism were booming, the Israel Air Force practiced maneuvers in Turkish airspace and Israeli technicians were modernizing Turkish combat jets. There were also plans for high-tech cooperation and water sharing.

Relations between Israel and Turkey took a downturn during the term of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan as Turkish Prime Minister. Though Erdoğan had paid an official visit to Israel in 2005 and initially had maintained business-as-usual relations, his perceived anti-Israeli rhetoric is considered to have symbolized an intentional shift of Turkish interests in the Middle East and realignment from secular Israeli-oriented to Islamist pro-Arab stance of Turkish Republic. Most notably, the relations deteriorated after the 2008–09 Gaza War and the 2010 Gaza flotilla raid. In March 2013, Israel apologized for the raid, opening path for normalized relations. However, despite US-mediation, no progress has been achieved in reconciliation through 2013. With the scandal over alleged Turkish involvement in exposure of special agents of Israel in Iran in October 2013, the relations between Israel and Turkey hit a new low.

However, in December 2015, Turkey and Israel began to negotiate on restoring diplomatic relations by holding a secret meeting, in the aftermath of the 2015 Russian Sukhoi Su-24 shootdown by Turkey the previous month, and the subsequent crisis with Russia and the increasing isolation of Turkey. The two countries reached an agreement on 27 June 2016 to start the process of normalization of ties.

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