Turkish-Israeli relations have suffered another setback, Turkish retired diplomats said.
“The Prime Minister has made a very serious mistake. Turkey is paying the price for the government’s pro-Hamas approach. Tomorrow the cost could be more serious. In foreign policy, one needs to think three times and speak once,” main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) deputy chairman Onur Oymen said.
“You cannot handle foreign policy by talking big or as if you are running a coffee house. One who starts up in anger sits down with a loss. The government would do a better job if it listened to what we say instead of listening to our tapped telephone conversations,” he said.
Turkey’s former ambassador to the United States, Faruk Logoglu said the latest incident should be considered an “aftershock” of Davos. He said the remarks by the Israeli general, who holds a responsible position, would have an impact that cast a shadow in Turkish-Israeli relations but noted it would not be correct to claim they entirely reflected the views of Israel.
“It was clear from the very beginning that Davos would have consequences and today we see Turkey being excluded from the ongoing process of cease-fire between Hamas and Israel and negative signals are coming from the Israeli lobby in the United States,” said veteran Turkish diplomat, Inal Batu. “Turkey may have won sympathy in Gaza or on some Arab streets but this is not enough,” he said, Hurriyet Daily News reports.
