Seeking to Fix Diplomatic Ills, Israel in Talks with the European Union and Turkey

While Israeli officials try to counter suggestions that it is becoming increasingly isolated in the world community, its diplomats are determinedly negotiating with the European Union and Turkey in efforts to solve two of the more celebrated challenges. Relations between Jerusalem and the European Union’s member states plunged when the EU first began threatening to require goods and products emanating from the areas Israel conquered in the 1967 war, from Israeli communities in those areas, as being “not from Israel.” When the threat was recently enacted, reactions on both sides became more heated, Israel searching for ways to fight back. It rankled the EU officials when Israel suspended all contacts with the EU relative to the peace process (except official contact with the Quartet envoy). Now, local media is reporting secret talks between Israel and the EU to solve the labeling crisis and to deal with other sore points as well, including ways to jumpstart the peace process. Meanwhile, restoring relations with Turkey remains a top priority in Jerusalem as rumors continue to speak to progress in talks but at least two obstacles preventing a deal from closing. The two nations will meet in Switzerland on Wednesday to try to settle the issues remaining from the 2010 Gaza Flotilla affair when Israeli naval commandoes boarded at ship that set out to break the Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip and nine Turkish nationals died when the incident turned violent. Israel is not prepared to allow the free access to Gaza that Turkey is demanding and Israel wants the Erdogan government to effectively crack down on the growing Hamas presence in Turkey.