(Ha'aretz) Ely Karmon - Although diplomatic and economic relations between Israel and Turkey could be reestablished quite quickly, sensitive military and strategic cooperation is much more difficult to achieve in view of the deep changes in the ranks of the Turkish military and intelligence echelons and of mutual mistrust - which will not disappear overnight. The first test for Erdogan's real intentions will be his expected visit to Gaza in mid-April, where he is sure to be received as the next Sultan. The crucial question is how much support Erdogan will give to Hamas, which has not renounced its goal of liberating all of Palestine through the armed struggle. Turkey's leadership has neither criticized Hamas' violent activities nor succeeded in influencing its strategy, while protesting loudly Israel's retaliatory actions. The writer is Senior Research Scholar at the Institute for Counter-Terrorism at the IDC in Herzliya.
2013-03-27 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive