It is commonly known that the Israeli intelligence agency, the Mossad, is one of the top international intelligence agencies in the world. It ranks among the American CIA and British MI5. In cooperation with Aman and the Shin Bet, Israel’s top intelligence organization is responsible for thwarting many terror attacks and helping Israel in preparation for wars. Its agents are believed to have infiltrated terrorist organizations, governments, security services, and companies around the world.
Israel’s intelligence agency acts as part of a community. It does not spy on countries that actively cooperate with the Mossad. So, while there have been embarrassing incidents in the past, Israel does not, as a rule, spy on friendly countries.
One of the countries that Israel has built a great working relationship with is Turkey. The Turkish MIT is a counterpart to the Mossad, and they have shared countless intelligence secrets with each other to help protect both countries from external threats.
So why did Turkey not mention that a boat full of armed terrorists was on the way? They most likely knew, but kept it a secret. Because of Israel’s policy of not operating against friendly nations, Turkey had an opportunity to throw Israel under the bus.
The Turkish Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdo?an, has become more radical and more Islamist over time. This matches the overall sentiment of the country, which is moving closer to Iran and farther from the West. The Turkish Prime Minster’s office released a statement saying that “Israel is about to face the danger of losing its only friend in the region that made the highest contribution to peace in the region.”
It appears that Israel already lost that friend, but not because of its own doing. Turkey did not allow Israel to participate in a previously agreed to military training session with the United States and Italy. Turkey’s national TV station insulted Israel and led to an international incident (that Israel could have handled better as well). Turkey sided with Hamas in the recent war between Israel and known terrorists in the Gaza Strip. And now, Turkey appears to have set Israel up for a failure in maintaining a security blockade around the Gaza Strip.
The entire Flotilla incident become violent because of Turkish nationals, and those Turks were known to be anti-Israel and have violent intentions before the boat set sail for Cyprus. Israel’s trust of Turkey led to the international media frenzy and diplomatic fallout of the Flotilla.
Israel is simply trying to survive. Turkey has left it to fend for itself. There is little question as to where Israel’s relationship with Turkey, a major Muslim nation, is going to end up. Hopefully it will not be as violent as others.
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