by Keren Setton
JERUSALEM, Dec. 18 (Xinhua) -- The history in which Israel and Turkey shared a warm relationship has become a distant memory as tensions between the two sides increase.
There have been reports of clashes between both sides, and the potential for escalation exists.
"Turkey is trying to force itself back into the conversation," said Gabriel Mitchell, a policy fellow at the Mitvim Israeli Institute for Regional Foreign Policies about Turkey's recent moves. "It has the potential of becoming a more complicated...scenario."
"There are more indications of confrontation than of cooperation," Mitchell told Xinhua. "But at the same time, the parties are sending mixed signals."
British newspaper the Telegraph reported on Wednesday that Turkey had turned a blind eye this year on militants from the Hamas organization who were plotting attacks against Israel on Turkish soil. Israel has repeatedly criticized Turkey for letting the militant group operate in the country.
Tensions between Turkey and Israel appear to be peaking and while certain interests are keeping the relations from further deteriorating.
Gone are the 1990's when relations were strong. Relations began to sour in 2009, as then Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan took a hardline against Israeli policies towards the Palestinians.
In 2010 a Turkish led flotilla aimed at breaking Israel's blockade on the Gaza Strip ended in a clash with Israeli forces and the death of 10 Turkish citizens onboard one of the ships. It was the lowest point of the relationship.
In an attempt to heal the rift, a reconciliation agreement was signed between the two in 2016. Ambassadors were reinstated and there was a brief moment of hope that affairs were back on course.
But Erdogan never missed a chance to criticize Israeli policies in Gaza and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was always quick to retort.
In 2018, when the American administration announced its recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital and deadly clashes between Palestinians and Israeli forces on the Gaza border erupted, the relations took a down turn. Ambassadors were recalled again and diplomatic relations have not been reinstated since.
"Turkey is a stubborn adversary to Israel," said Gallia Lindenstrauss, a research fellow at the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) at the Tel Aviv University. "At this point, there is no attempt to bridge the gap."
The relations are currently afloat due to mutual economic interests.
According to the Israel Export Institute, there has been an increase in trade between the two countries in recent years. There has been an increase in both Israeli exports to Turkey and imports from the neighboring country.
After years in which Israelis avoided the coastal resorts of Turkey, tourism is on the rise and there are several daily flights between the two countries. Israelis frequently use Turkey as a hub that connects them to various destinations.
"Trade is impressive, but could be even better," said Lindenstrauss, saying that the potential is not realized due to the strained relations.
"It's unreasonable to assume that because of economic opportunities, the parties are going to patch up all of their differences," Mitchell told Xinhua. "The question is if they can patch up just enough of their differences."
Both sides also share mutual regional concerns. Both are unhappy with Iranian nuclear aspirations and increasing Russian presence in the Middle East. However, so far, this has not brought the two countries closer, according to Mitchell.
"There is an understanding that in order to be an influential player, Turkey has to have an open line of communication with Israel," Lindenstrauss told Xinhua.
"There is an understanding in Israel that Turkey is a critical regional player, and Israel has no interest in making Turkey a greater adversary than it already is," said Lindenstrauss.
Should Netanyahu be removed from office following an election slated for March 2020, things could change. But with a gap so wide for so long, it will take a long time for relations to return to the warm situation which was decades ago.
