The [Israel] Foreign Ministry has now decided to proceed with the formulation of a diplomatic and security “toolbox” to be used against the Turks. The first move would be to issue a travel warning urging all Israeli military veterans to refrain from traveling to Turkey. The advisory will be especially harsh as it will also urge Israelis to refrain from boarding connections in Turkey.
Another planned Israeli move is the facilitation of cooperation with Turkey’s historic rivals, the Armenians. During Lieberman’s visit to the United States this month, the foreign minister is expected to meet with leaders of the Armenian lobby and propose anti-Turkish cooperation in Congress.
The implication of this move could be Israeli assistance in promoting international recognition of the Armenian holocaust, a measure that would gravely harm Turkey. Israel may also back Armenia in its dispute vis-à-vis Turkey over control of Mount Ararat.
Lieberman is also planning to set meetings with the heads of Kurdish rebel group PKK in Europe in order to “cooperate with them and boost them in every possible area.” In these meetings, the Kurds may ask Israel for military aid in the form of training and arms supplies, a move that would constitute a major anti-Turkish position should it materialize.
The PKK is a “U.S. Government Designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations” in the State Department’s current list of foreign terrorist organizations. In the event that Israel starts providing the PKK with weapons, Israel itself will need to be considered for inclusion in the State Department’s list of State Sponsors of Terrorism. Were it to be listed, this would mean that it would be illegal for the United States to continue providing military aid and economic assistance to Israel.
Israel has long been involved in arming the PKK — with the help of the US, who resent Turkey’s meddling in the Kurds of northern Iraq. This is not exactly a secret.
What can you say to such stupid moves? If Israel wants to drive itself over a cliff I won’t try stop them. But still makes you wonder.
Firstly Israel is not going to win this. Turkey is a large country, that if granted its membership into the EU would be the 4th largest Economy in the bloc and has 75 Million people. Will it really care about losing some Israeli tourism? My guess is not much.
The Armenian holocaust threat (even if successful and lets face it Israel doesn’t have much friends in the international community to rally) would be more akward than anything else. It happened in 1915-1919 it has little bearing on modern foreign policy other than pissing off Turkey.
Of course Turkey could retaliate to this threat in a way to hurt Israel even more. If Israel brings up the Armenian holocaust all Turkey needs to do is bring up the Palestinian 1948 Nakba and the ethnic cleansing that preceded it. “the cleansing of Palestine remained the prime objective of Plan Dalet” that is Ben Gurion’s quote on May 11th 1948. In short Israel cannot lecture anyone else on ethnic cleansing.
As for increasing involvement with the PKK and giving them weapons? Well damn if Israel funds terrorist groups against Turkey then Turkey should arm Hamas with a multitude of surface to air missiles and all the other toys Turkey gets from being in NATO. I look forward to see Hamas marching while kitted out in Kevlar uniforms and driving APC’s. On arming the PKK Israel needs to learn not to start throwing stones in a glasshouse.
In short Israel is no match for a large country like Turkey and this list of suggestions just proves they ain’t got anything.
Well now, this does bring up an interesting question: If Israeli leadership engages in such behavior and the U.S. is complicit, does that mean the U.S. is being run by what the Israelis want/do, meaning they – Israelis – are in the drivers seat, or is the U.S. Military so inept that it will allow such actions to jeopardize the whole country – the U.S.A. – by the whims of the Israelis?
Keep heading down that road, Israel, and no one will be able to speak against designating the country a sponsor of terrorism nor oppose placing them under sanctions. The measures are long overdue being applied already.
There are under 10 milion jews in the USA of a population of just over 300 million – it is a mystery that such a small ethnic minority has so much pull over the politics and foreign policy of that nation.
Can anyone adequately explain this?
Israel can easily burn with balls of fire a “big area” or “huge country” within few minutes. End of problem. No future of non turkey sponsor of hamas Egypt or Iran.
Thats it!
Don´t mess with Israel.
Maybe they are right-they are smarter than all the others.
@ Yitzhack Ben Ariel I am assuming that you are writing facetiously as no one would be as flagrantly arrogant enough as to suggest the annilhation by nuclear weapons of any of these countries.
We have an old Turkish saying it says literally ” When a dog approaches the end of it’s life (when the death shows him his face) it goes and urinates on the walls of a mosque..”
Israil is like that dog!.. Turks would only be a secondary reason for that dogs end.If it is not Turks then something else or perhaps they will destroy themselves for this fake regime has come to end of his life we can see that from it’s pissing on the walls of that the wrong building!..
Israel is on the forefront on the war on Islamic terror whether the bleedling heart leftists agree or not…… The arabs have fought war after war with Israel and were beaten — God is with Israel and the arabs and their oil licking supporters must understand this the easy way from History – or the hard way by another try at war….
Radical Zionist Israel is the World’s Premier “Undeclared Terrorist State” wholly supported by American taxpayer hand-outs! Turkey on the other hand is the 16th biggest economy globally with the fastest growing GDP in the World. The Zionist morons of the War Criminal Bibi Admin lost the best friend they ever had as the Turks had helped out Jews in persection since the Spanish Inquisition in 1459 through the assistance provided to Jews fleeing Nazi Persecution. All of that the Religio-Fascist Israel destroyed in her murderous barbaric attack on the flotilla having massacered 9 unarmed Turkish Civilian Activists in International Waters. Having thus antagonized her one and only friend and ally in the ME the Microscopic Terrorist Pest Israel may now start the final countdown as no tiny state can surivie the enmity of Turkey while being hated passionately be EVERY nation in the region!