Just four years ago, Turkey was considered one of Israel's closest allies in the region. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Israel was on the verge of losing its best friend in the region. He said Israel's decision to raid the Marmara was an unacceptable violation of international law.
The Turkish government has demanded that Israel lift its blockade of the Gaza Strip and allow an investigation into the raid. Israel has rejected those calls, saying the blockade prevents missile attacks on Israel from the Hamas-ruled territory.
Turkey has also called off planned military exercises with Israel, and some Israeli analysts fear military contracts between the two countries could also suffer.
Israeli analyst Anat Lapidot-Firilla, a professor at Jerusalem's Hebrew University, says that Turkey-Israel relations were once prized by both countries.
Israel regards the Iranian nuclear program as an existential threat.
Yaakov Katz, a military analyst for the Jerusalem Post newspaper, says Turkey's newfound closeness to Iran is ironic, considering Israeli air force pilots are widely reported to have simulated attacks on Iranian nuclear installations during training flights over Turkish territory.
Katz has observed Israeli and Turkish military exercises in the past.
"Israel is a very small country and the air force requires large places to be able to drill and exercise long-range flights — such [as] a potential attack on Iran," Katz said. "Turkey is a very large country [and] has enabled Israel to fly over its airspace, and that has allowed Israel to plan long-range flights, some of which it might have to carry out in the near future."
Lapidot-Firilla says Israel has already contacted a number of countries such as Azerbaijan and Greece to propose joint drills. Still, she says, the deteriorating relationship between Israel and Turkey will be felt acutely within the Israeli military establishment.
The Turkish government has demanded that Israel lift its blockade of the Gaza Strip and allow an investigation into the raid. Israel has rejected those calls, saying the blockade prevents missile attacks on Israel from the Hamas-ruled territory.
Turkey has also called off planned military exercises with Israel, and some Israeli analysts fear military contracts between the two countries could also suffer.
Israeli analyst Anat Lapidot-Firilla, a professor at Jerusalem's Hebrew University, says that Turkey-Israel relations were once prized by both countries.
Israel regards the Iranian nuclear program as an existential threat.
Yaakov Katz, a military analyst for the Jerusalem Post newspaper, says Turkey's newfound closeness to Iran is ironic, considering Israeli air force pilots are widely reported to have simulated attacks on Iranian nuclear installations during training flights over Turkish territory.
Katz has observed Israeli and Turkish military exercises in the past.
"Israel is a very small country and the air force requires large places to be able to drill and exercise long-range flights — such [as] a potential attack on Iran," Katz said. "Turkey is a very large country [and] has enabled Israel to fly over its airspace, and that has allowed Israel to plan long-range flights, some of which it might have to carry out in the near future."
Lapidot-Firilla says Israel has already contacted a number of countries such as Azerbaijan and Greece to propose joint drills. Still, she says, the deteriorating relationship between Israel and Turkey will be felt acutely within the Israeli military establishment.
