Israel Fed Up with Turkey’s Erdogan; Suspends Arms Sales

It appears that Israeli officials are finally fed up with the year-long harangues against it from Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and have decided to strike back. Jane’s Defense Weekly is now reporting that a temporary freeze on military sales to Turkey is in effect and that all potential arms deals will be scrutinized on a case-by-case basis. The once warm relations between Israel and Turkey began to sour when Israel launched a military operation in the Gaza Strip in January 2009. From then on, Erdogan’s public statements grew increasingly hostile. In March, he called Israel the “principle threat to regional peace.” Every outburst by Erdogan was followed by Israeli officials expressing hope that it would be the last and that relations between the Mediterranean neighbors would improve again. But Erdogan has complicated matters by coupling his blistering attacks on Israel with a clear attempt to move close to Israeli nemesis Iran, finally prompting the arms freeze.