ISRAEL and Turkey have exchanged diplomatic barbs as the spat between the former allies escalated following deadly violence along Israel’s border with Gaza.
A day after it expelled the Israeli ambassador, Turkey also asked Israel’s consul general in Istanbul to leave. Israel, in turn, summoned a top Turkish diplomat to be reprimanded for the humiliation of Israel’s ambassador as he was kicked out of the country.
The exchanges came less than two years after the countries reconciled and exchanged ambassadors after six years of animosity.
Once close allies in an Arab-dominated region, Israel and Turkey’s ties began to decline after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose party has roots in Turkey’s Islamist movement, first came to power as prime minister in 2003.
Relations imploded in 2010 after a confrontation between Israeli commandos and a Turkish flotilla trying to breach the blockade of Gaza left 10 Turkish activists dead.
Erdogan has often lashed out at Israel over its clashes with Hamas militants in Gaza, and he led the international criticism of Israel after nearly 60 Palestinians were killed on Monday in the bloodiest day of cross-border violence since a devastating 2014 war between Israel and Hamas. He also ratcheted up his rhetoric against the US embassy move to Jerusalem.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu retorted that “a man whose hands are drenched in the blood of countless Kurdish civilians in Turkey and Syria is the last one who can preach to us about military ethics”.
Meanwhile, Guatemala has opened its new embassy in Jerusalem, becoming the second country to do so after the US.
The heavy death toll on Monday, along with hundreds of wounded, triggered a diplomatic backlash against Israel.
The UN Security Council held a special session that began with a moment of silence for the Palestinians who were killed. In Geneva, the UN human rights office said Israel has repeatedly violated international norms by using deadly live fire to repel protesters.
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