Turkey says new Israeli government will test whether hostility outlasts Netanyahu

Turkey’s intelligence chief, Ibrahim Kalin, said the formation of a new Israeli government would show whether tensions with Turkey stem from Benjamin Netanyahu’s administration or reflect a lasting Israeli state policy. He said Ankara had no intention of treating Israel as an enemy, but warned that defining Turkey as a hostile country would be dangerous.

Kalin said Turkey’s disputes with Israel were rooted in its treatment of Palestinians, including the occupation and annexation, and argued that neither Turkish leaders nor the public could ignore deaths in Gaza and the West Bank. He said Israel had become increasingly isolated internationally, citing US President Donald Trump’s comments about declining support, and also criticised Israeli expansionism in Lebanon, the West Bank and Syria. He noted that Turkey was the first Muslim-majority country to recognise Israel and establish diplomatic, political and economic relations.