While Israelis have been celebrating the new potential ties with the United Arab Emirates, the Turkish ruling party is angling to become a much larger challenge to the Jewish state in the coming years.
Ankara’s current regime under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been increasingly hostile to Israel for the last decade, comparing the country to Nazi Germany and vowing to “liberate” al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. Reports now indicate that intelligence and military assessments in Israel see Ankara as a challenge and threat.
A recent article in The Times said Mossad head Yossi Cohen “has been talking secretly with fellow spooks in the Gulf states for years.” While he has discussed the Iran threat, another threat is looming, the article noted.
“There was one encounter about 20 months ago when he let slip another agenda: ‘Iranian power is fragile, but the real threat is from Turkey,’” he reportedly told spymasters from Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the Emirates.
Israel views Ankara’s strategic goals as a challenge. In January, Israel’s annual assessment conducted by the IDF noted that Turkey has also become a “challenge” for the first time. This appears to be the growing consensus in military and intelligence circles.
Turkey continues to challenge Israel on a variety of fronts. Ankara has hosted Hamas, and the terrorist organization planned attacks on Israel from Turkey, The Telegraph reported last year. According to a new report, Turkey has granted citizenship to Hamas operatives. In November, Ankara signed a deal with the Tripoli-based government in Libya and has begun sending arms and Syrian mercenaries to Libya.
This was designed in part to stop an Israeli pipeline deal with Greece and Cyprus. That deal was signed in January and is moving forward. Turkey in turn harassed an Israeli research ship off Cyprus in December. Now it has sent its own research ship to waters between Cyprus and Greece along with a fleet of Turkish naval ships. Israel’s Image Sat International published images of the Turkish flotilla.
On the eve of the surprise announcement that Israel and the UAE would normalize relations, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Greece’s foreign minister Israel stood by Greece in disputes with Turkey. This brings Israel into the alliance of states that oppose Ankara’s increasing aggression in the region.
In May, the UAE, France, Greece, Cyprus and Egypt condemned Turkey’s moves in the Mediterranean. Egypt warned Turkey against more advances in Libya, where Cairo backs the Benghazi-based government against Ankara’s mercenaries and allies in Tripoli. The conflict in Libya and Turkey’s hosting of Hamas leaders on August 22 are all linked because Turkey backs a regional religious agenda tied to the Muslim Brotherhood.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan hosted a large Hamas delegation on Saturday on the eve of US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s visit to Israel.
The meeting was the latest in a series of high-profile Hamas meetings in Turkey that have all been pushed by Erdogan and his team. Ankara is a supporter of Hamas, which has been accused of plotting attacks on Israel in Turkey. The country has given Hamas members citizenship, according to media accounts in the United Kingdom.
Both Hamas and Turkey’s ruling party have roots in the Muslim Brotherhood, a far-right religious, extremist organization. Members of the Muslim Brotherhood have been accused of having antisemitic views.
Hamas praised the meeting with Erdogan on Saturday in a press release. The delegation included Hamas deputy chief Saleh al-Arouri, chief of Hamas abroad Maher Salah, Hamas head of Arab and Islamic religions Ezzat al-Rihiq and Hamas representative in Turkey Jihad Yaghmor, it said. Arouri is a wanted terrorist.
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