Has Israel lost lone regional Muslim ally Turkey?
Less than three years ago Shimon Peres addressed the Turkish Grand National Assembly – Turkey’s parliament – in Ankara. It was the first time an Israeli president had addressed legislators in a Muslim country, a gesture which spoke volumes about the extraordinary relationship between Israel and Turkey, a relationship dating back to the early Turkish recognition of the Jewish state in 1949. Uniquely among Muslim countries in the region, Turkey has strong trading ties with Israel. The Turkish military buys weapons from Israel and trains with its armed forces, and in 2008 Turkey played host to more than half a million Israeli tourists, making it their favourite overseas holiday destination. What has gone wrong? Over the past 18 months the two countries have lurched from one diplomatic crisis to another, culminating in the furious Turkish response to Israel’s botched attempt to block the convoy from reaching Gaza. All military co-operation has been frozen, and Israeli tourists are cancelli
