Turkey’s foreign ministry summoned Israel’s ambassador on Saturday to complain about a comment a senior Israeli general had made criticizing Turkey. It was the latest development in a growing war of words between the two US allies.
After the meeting, Israel’s military issued a statement saying the remarks that Israeli Major General Avi Mizrahi had made on Tuesday did not reflect Israel’s official view.
Turkish officials were not immediately available for comment to respond to the Israeli military’s statement.
Turkey’s foreign ministry summoned Israeli Ambassador Gabby Levy to ask for an urgent explanation over comments that Mizrahi had made on Tuesday at a military base in Israel. Turkish media said Mizrahi had accused Turkey of killing Armenians in 1915 and of oppressing Kurds and occupying Cyprus.
Turkey has long been Israel’s closest ally in the Muslim world and it has worked hard to try to mediate for peace in the Middle East, along with Egypt and France.
Mizrahi’s remarks concerned very sensitive issues in Turkey and angered its government.
They apparently were made in response to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan who had sharply reprimanded Israeli President Shimon Peres over civilian casualties during the Gaza war at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
“While referring to the criticism of Israel by Turkey, General Mizrahi made statements that could be interpreted as criticism of Turkey’s past,” said a statement by Brigadier General Avi Benayahu, spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). “The IDF spokesperson wishes to clarify that this is not the official position of the IDF.”
Turkey’s foreign ministry issued a statement calling Mizrahi’s remarks “baseless” and saying they contained “unacceptable allegations and ravings” and that they were “directed against our prime minister.”
Turkey’s Radikal newspaper reported on Saturday that Mizrahi also responded to Erdogan’s call that Israel should be barred from the UN by saying that Turkey should be barred as well.
The Turkish military said Mizrahi’s remarks “deviate from the truth and cannot be accepted under any condition” and “can harm national interests between the two countries,” underlining the importance relations between the two countries.
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