ANKARA: Turkiye has blocked cooperation between NATO and Israel since October because of the war in Gaza and said the alliance should not engage with Israel as a partner until there is an end to the conflict, sources familiar with the process said.
Israel carries the status of NATO partner and has fostered close relations with the military alliance and some of its members, notably its biggest ally the US.
Prior to Israel’s offensive in Gaza — prompted by Hamas’ Oct. 7 rampage — NATO member Turkiye had been working to mend its long-strained ties with Israel.
Since then, Ankara has been fiercely critical of Israel’s operation in Gaza, which it says amounts to a genocide, and has halted all bilateral trade.
It has also slammed many Western allies for their support of Israel.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, the sources said Turkiye had vetoed all NATO engagement with Israel since October, including joint meetings and exercises, viewing Israel’s “massacre” of Palestinians in Gaza as a violation of NATO’s founding principles.
A UN inquiry in June found that both Israel and Hamas had committed war crimes in the early stages of the Gaza war.
It said Israel’s actions constituted crimes against humanity because of the immense civilian losses. Israel rejects this and says its operation in Gaza, which has killed nearly 40,000 people, aims to eradicate Hamas.
The sources said Turkiye would maintain this block and not allow Israel to continue or advance its interaction with NATO until there was an end to the conflict, as it believes Israel’s actions in Gaza violate international law and universal human rights.
After a NATO summit in Washington in July, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said it was not possible for NATO to continue its partnership with the Israeli administration.
Earlier this week, Israel’s foreign minister urged the alliance to expel Turkiye after Erdogan appeared to threaten to enter Israel, as it had Libya and Nagorno-Karabakh in the past.
Erdogan has condemned the “perfidious assassination” in Tehran of his close ally and “brother” Ismail Haniyeh, the political leader of Hamas.
“May God have mercy on my brother Ismail Haniyeh, fallen in martyrdom after this odious attack,” Erdogan wrote on the X social media platform, denouncing “Zionist barbarity.”
“This shameful act aims to sabotage the Palestinian cause, the glorious Gazan resistance and our Palestinian brothers’ just fight, and to intimidate Palestinians,” Erdogan added.
Thousands of protesters marched after evening prayers in Istanbul to condemn the killing, many waving Turkish and Palestinian flags and chanting slogans hostile to Israel, while an Israeli flag was burned.
“I am here because Israel martyred the representative of the Palestinian people,” said 44-year-old demonstrator Mehmet.
“The great powers have an important role to play. If they don’t prevent these massacres ... history will accuse us of looking on.”
