Turkey announced on Tuesday, September 6, the suspension of trade with Israel's defense and increased its naval patrols in the eastern Mediterranean, a sign of continued deterioration of relations between the two countries. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned that "further retaliation" against Israel would be taken, without specifying which ones.
By threatening to send warships into waters operates the Israeli navy, the head of the Turkish government takes the risk of a naval battle between two countries whose ties have been strained because of opposition to Ankara Israel's policies toward the Palestinians. "The Eastern Mediterranean is an area foreign to us. Aksaz and Alexandretta, these places have the means to provide escorts (...)" said the press Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara, referring to two bases Turkish Navy. "Of course, our ships will be more often seen in these waters," he added.
Ankara had already announced, Friday, Sept. 2, the expulsion of the Israeli ambassador and the suspension of bilateral military agreements, after publication in the press extracts the UN report into the death of nine Turkish activists pro Palestinian-May 2010 in the assault of a vessel carrying aid and the crew wanted to break the blockade of the Gaza Strip. Ankara has asked in vain for an official apology and indicated his intention to go to court to challenge the international Israeli policy in Gaza.
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