Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (L) and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R). (Reuters/ AFP)
However, the lifting of the Gaza blockade and improving living conditions there seems to be the most controversial aspect of the deal.
Israel will reportedly give the green light for Ankara to construct a hospital that will serve Gazans, and will not block Turkey from supplying medicine and personnel to the hospital. All humanitarian aid from Turkey will be delivered to Gaza via Ashdod port.
To bypass the naval blockade to a certain extent, a power plant and distillation plant - to be jointly built in Gaza by Turkey and Germany - will also be permitted.
There are conflicting reports on the future of Hamas’s offices in Turkey. While some say the issue is not part of the deal, others say the offices will be kept open for diplomatic purposes.
However, to sustain the agreement, experts underline the need to gain the support of Israeli and Turkish societies. “There’s a deep distrust in Israel toward Turkey, and enhancement of cooperation either at the economic, political or military level requires rebuilding of mutual trust between the two countries,” Nasi said.
“On Turkey’s behalf, downplaying and preferably fighting against anti-Israeli and anti-Semitic rhetoric at home will provide a strong indicator of its sincerity and commitment to the deal.”
The Mavi Marmora incident was NOT Israel's fault, and I would tell Turkey to shove it up their ass. The UN determined that the blockade was legal, and the terrorists on board that ship attacked the legally boarding Israelis, whereas all the other ships in the flotilla were boarded peacefully. A Turkish witness provided evidence that it was the fault of the terrorists on board. That issue was dealt with long ago, and at that time I posted the witness' evidence. Don't forget that those bastard Turks refuse and will always refuse to admit their guilt for the Armenian genocide, so that's who you're dealing with.
The Mavi Marmora incident was NOT Israel's fault, and I would tell Turkey to shove it up their ass. The UN determined that the blockade was legal, and the terrorists on board that ship attacked the legally boarding Israelis, whereas all the other ships in the flotilla were boarded peacefully. A Turkish witness provided evidence that it was the fault of the terrorists on board. That issue was dealt with long ago, and at that time I posted the witness' evidence. Don't forget that those bastard Turks refuse and will always refuse to admit their guilt for the Armenian genocide, so that's who you're dealing with.
All true.
But its a question of "cost benefit analysis". Often countries choose to have relations with countries that have policies they don't like-- but having good relations has other benefits that override that. Examples are numerous.
Was the U.S. wrong to ally ourselves with Stalin's brutal regime in order to defeat Hitler? Sometimes its a tough call. Currently several Middle-eastern Arab states have pretty nasty governments-- their policies re: human rights are horrendous. But we need their support & mutual cooperation in the battle vs ISIS. What to do? Sometimes it a tough call...
I don't see much of anything coming of this. The old days of economic and military cooperation are out of reach for both Erdogan and Netanyahu: they aren't going to spend the energy that would be required to reach the level of mutual confidence that once existed. Both leaders will sacrifice the relationship at the first crunch.
The irony is that restoring relations between the two countries would be a "win-win", good for both-- but the political views of their current leaders and/or domestic political pressures might well sabotage the deal. or maybe just their egos...
P.S: I just realized-- since both countries are considered by the U.S. to be our allies, I bet the U.S. has been putting a lot of pressure on both gov't to restore ties.
Of course. Obama forced Netanyahu to apologize and promise bribery money before, but that didn't do the trick. He put pressure on Israel, but what pressure did he put on Turkey, besides begging Erdogan to tell him how to bring up his daughters?
Makes perfect sense-- long overdue. (If you want to know why, read the seeded article).
However, to sustain the agreement, experts underline the need to gain the support of Israeli and Turkish societies. “There’s a deep distrust in Israel toward Turkey, and enhancement of cooperation either at the economic, political or military level requires rebuilding of mutual trust between the two countries,” Nasi said.
“On Turkey’s behalf, downplaying and preferably fighting against anti-Israeli and anti-Semitic rhetoric at home will provide a strong indicator of its sincerity and commitment to the deal.”
Uh-Oh!
Oh well, it was nice while it lasted.
The Mavi Marmora incident was NOT Israel's fault, and I would tell Turkey to shove it up their ass. The UN determined that the blockade was legal, and the terrorists on board that ship attacked the legally boarding Israelis, whereas all the other ships in the flotilla were boarded peacefully. A Turkish witness provided evidence that it was the fault of the terrorists on board. That issue was dealt with long ago, and at that time I posted the witness' evidence. Don't forget that those bastard Turks refuse and will always refuse to admit their guilt for the Armenian genocide, so that's who you're dealing with.
Concur. Israel was not responsible.
The Mavi Marmora incident was NOT Israel's fault, and I would tell Turkey to shove it up their ass. The UN determined that the blockade was legal, and the terrorists on board that ship attacked the legally boarding Israelis, whereas all the other ships in the flotilla were boarded peacefully. A Turkish witness provided evidence that it was the fault of the terrorists on board. That issue was dealt with long ago, and at that time I posted the witness' evidence. Don't forget that those bastard Turks refuse and will always refuse to admit their guilt for the Armenian genocide, so that's who you're dealing with.
All true.
But its a question of "cost benefit analysis". Often countries choose to have relations with countries that have policies they don't like-- but having good relations has other benefits that override that. Examples are numerous.
Was the U.S. wrong to ally ourselves with Stalin's brutal regime in order to defeat Hitler? Sometimes its a tough call. Currently several Middle-eastern Arab states have pretty nasty governments-- their policies re: human rights are horrendous. But we need their support & mutual cooperation in the battle vs ISIS. What to do? Sometimes it a tough call...
I don't see much of anything coming of this. The old days of economic and military cooperation are out of reach for both Erdogan and Netanyahu: they aren't going to spend the energy that would be required to reach the level of mutual confidence that once existed. Both leaders will sacrifice the relationship at the first crunch.
You're probably right.
The irony is that restoring relations between the two countries would be a "win-win", good for both-- but the political views of their current leaders and/or domestic political pressures might well sabotage the deal. or maybe just their egos...
P.S: I just realized-- since both countries are considered by the U.S. to be our allies, I bet the U.S. has been putting a lot of pressure on both gov't to restore ties.
Of course. Obama forced Netanyahu to apologize and promise bribery money before, but that didn't do the trick. He put pressure on Israel, but what pressure did he put on Turkey, besides begging Erdogan to tell him how to bring up his daughters?