1 min read
Last Thursday evening, 36 hours before the suicide attack in Istanbul, the IDF deputy chief of staff, Major-General Yair Golan, made an unguarded and unplanned remark on the Israeli-Turkish relationship during a conference in Bar Ilan University.
"Turkey is very problematic," said the general. "As long as it is ruled by a party with a strong Islamist orientation and by a combative leader such as Erdogan, we are in for problems and challenges."
Maj Gen Golan's undiplomatic words echo the perspective of the Israeli security and diplomatic establishment. While negotiations over a rapprochement have been going on for years and an agreement has been on the table for months, the instinctively anti-Israeli position of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and at least part of his AK Party, remains an obstacle to its implementation.
The feeling in Jerusalem is that, although there is a consensus in Ankara that the two countries should find ways to resume the close strategic relationship they enjoyed until about a decade ago, it remains unattainable under this president.
Can the excellent co-operation seen this week over the Istanbul suicide attack change the perceptions and spur the two sides to bridge their differences?
Mr Erdogan and his Prime Minister, Ahmet Davutoglu, sent their Israeli counterparts personal messages of condolences, but that was not a clear indication of anything.
Hours after the attack, Irem Atkas, an AK Party official, tweeted: "I wish that the wounded Israeli tourists were dead". She was - reportedly - dismissed from her position.
Although this appeared to be a good omen, ultimately, the bombing does not change the fundamentals of the diplomatic impasse.
Israel demands that, as part of the rapprochement, Turkey close down the Hamas offices in its territory. Turkey demands access to the Gaza Strip. Both these demands are negotiable but the deeper reality is that the regional landscape has changed.
In the past six months, Russia has emerged as a key regional player as a result of its intervention in Syria. Moscow and Ankara are now at loggerheads after a Turkish jet shot down a Russian fighter-jet on the border.
In this context, an Israeli rapprochement with Turkey looks strategically unwise.
To get more from opinion, click here to sign up for our free Editor's Picks newsletter.