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U.S. Urges Turkey, Israel to ‘Cool It’ in Diplomatic Dispute

U.S. Urges Turkey, Israel to ‘Cool It’ in Diplomatic Dispute

The U.S. government is “quite concerned” about tensions between Turkey and Israel, State Department spokesman Victoria Nuland said today.

“We are urging both sides to refrain” from heated rhetoric, Nuland told reporters. “We would like to see both sides cool it and get back to a place where they can have a productive relationship.”

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said his country will increase its naval presence in the eastern Mediterranean and accompany aid ships to prevent a repeat of the attack by Israeli commandos on a Gaza-bound ship last year.

The first priority of the Turkish navy will be “to protect our own ships,” Erdogan told Al Jazeera television, according to a transcript published by Turkey’s state-run Anatolia news agency. “From now on, our humanitarian aid missions won’t be subject to attacks like the Mavi Marmara was.”

Relations between Turkey and Israel, both U.S. allies, chilled after Israel refused last week to apologize for a May 2010 attack on a Gaza-bound aid convoy that left nine Turks dead. The refusal prompted Turkey’s announcement that it would increase patrols in the eastern Mediterranean.

A United Nations report made public last week found that Israel had acted within its rights in the May 2010 incident, though it used excessive force.

Ties Soured

Relations between the two Mediterranean nations, which had been close for decades, became strained after the 2008 Israeli war in Gaza. Erdogan repeatedly condemned Israel’s treatment of Palestinians, calling Gaza an “open air prison” and describing Israel as the main threat to regional peace.

In 2009, Erdogan walked out off a panel with Israeli President Shimon Peres in protest of Israeli bombing of the Gaza Strip. The May 2010 raid further soured ties.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sept. 9 that his government is discussing options in the diplomatic dispute with Turkey.

“Our policy was and remains to prevent a deterioration in relations with Turkey and to calm tensions between our nations,” Netanyahu said, according to a text message from his office.

Speaking in Washington, Nuland also referred to reports that Egyptian protesters have torn down part of a wall surrounding the Israeli embassy in Cairo.

The spokeswoman said “Egypt and Israel are working together,” in the wake of the wall’s razing. “Egypt has a Vienna Convention obligation to help Israel,” she said, referring to the international agreement on protocol protecting embassies and diplomats in foreign countries.

(Updates with Israeli reaction, Turkey-Israel tensions from third paragraph.)