Israel urges Turkey to rethink ties with Hamas, Iran

[bemildred]

JERUSALEM– Brushing off fierce Turkish censure of its offensive in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, Israel urged Ankara today to consider cooling ties with the Palestinian Islamists and Iran.

The Israeli military campaign, which ended in a Jan. 18 truce, triggered protests from Turkey culminating in a shouting match last week between its Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan and Israeli President Shimon Peres at the World Economic Forum.

Israeli officials have tried to play down the schism with Muslim, mostly secular Turkey, a key ally of the Jewish state.

But Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni on Sunday said the onus was on Ankara to get tough with Hamas, which won a 2006 Palestinian vote but has been shunned by the West for refusing to accept peace with Israel and halt short-range rocket salvoes from Gaza.

http://www.thestar.com/News/World/article/580611

[bemildred]

1. After Davos row, Livni urges Turkey to respect Israel

Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni on Sunday called on Ankara to show respect for Israel after Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan stormed off the stage in Davos over a heated debate on Gaza.

"We enjoy important strategic relations with Turkey, which is why I expect Turkey to show respect vis-a-vis Israel despite the demonstrations on the street and the very hard images aired about Gaza," Livni told public radio.

Livni, whose centrist Kadima party is trailing in opinion polls ahead of a general election on February 10, said it was possible to repair the damage with Turkey, one of the few Muslim nations to have relations with the Jewish state.

"It is possible to fix everything, we have to talk, put things on the table, keep our common interests as well as our differences in mind," she said.

http://rawstory.com/news/afp/After_Davos_row_Livni_urges_Turkey__02012009.html

[ProgressiveMuslim]

2. Odd, isn't it?

[bemildred]

3. They don't really want to piss off Turkey.

Nothing odd about it. But this is working great for Erdogan, so it may be too late. If Turkey joins the northern tier of Iran-aligned states and non-state-actors, things are going to get even more "polarized".

[azurnoir]

4. Doesn't some of Israel's oil come from Turkey?

I can think of a few other reasons Israel doesn't want Turkey too PO'd too

[bemildred]

5. I have heard of deals for gas and water. Oil I'm not sure about.

I don't think of Turkey as an oil exporter. In fact, it's a mystery where the oil comes from, although I do remember that Uncle Sugar provides some.

[oberliner]

7. Israel imports the bulk of its crude oil from Russia

According to this 2005 BBC article:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4490447.stm

[bemildred]

10. Yes, that's right, thanks. nt

[ohio2007]

9. there is a pipeline from Iraq that runs through Jordan

to Israel but I don't think that is ever going to be on the radar,up for discussion any time soon

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/2933557.stm

[ProgressiveMuslim]

12. Odd in that I'd think Livni would be asking her countrymen to respect Turkey!

[ohio2007]

6. is Turkey a lynch pin ?

Did the Israeli Ambassador slip up? War plan against Iran?
The Israeli Ambassador in Australia asks for the media to stop filming

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6sLbZ_ch3g

probably saber rattling before the elections

[IndianaGreen]

8. It would have been difficult for a combined US/Israel strike on Iran to be successful

Israel going solo is the sort of nightmare that only a fool trying to win an election would dare do. Even the idiot Bush nixed Olmert's proposal to bomb Iran before Obama took office.

[ohio2007]

11. In order to hurt Iran, they do not have to hit Iran

Iran has puppets on Israels borders