Posted on 01/12/2010 12:43:25 PM PST by dervish
Oguz Celikkol, Turkey's ambassador to Israel, reportedly told Arab MK Taleb a-Sanaa (UAL) Tuesday evening he will be traveling to Ankara for consultations in reaction to what the Turks termed the shameful treatment he was given by Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon during a meeting the two held on Monday evening, and that he may not return to Israel.
Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon. Photo: AP [file] SLIDESHOW: Israel & Region | World The Jerusalem Post could not confirm the report.
Earlier Tuesday, the Turkish Embassy in Tel Aviv issued a warning saying that "if Israel did not issue a public apology [over Celikkol's meeting with Ayalon] our response will be harsh."
The embassy said the meeting between Ayalon and Celikkol was scheduled in andvance, but he was surprised to find TV cameras at the scene when he arrived.
"The meeting was scheduled for Thursday, but Ayalon asked to advance it to Monday. We tried to inquire whether there was anything urgent leading to the meeting being advanced, but were answered in the negative," a statement from the embassy said.
"Early on in the meeting, Ayalon acted strangely and smiled while saying harsh things in Hebrew to the journalists who came to cover the meeting. The ambassador was sure he was greeting him, so he smiled back. The meeting itself was conducted in a calm and professional manner," the statement continued.
But Celikkol would have responded harshly to Ayalon's comments had he understood them. When the ambassador later realized what Ayalon had said, the embassy continued, he realized Ayalon "set a trap for him."
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu remained mum on the story that dominated Israeli and Turkish media throughout the day.
Earlier Tuesday, Israeli Ambassador to Turkey Gabby Levy was called in for a clarification meeting in Ankara on Tuesday afternoon.
It comes a day after Ayalon summoned Celikkol to the Knesset to express outrage over a new Turkish television show that depicts Mossad agents as baby-snatchers, and in a break from the diplomatic norm, invited the press for a photo-op, during which he was seen telling the cameramen to film him and his aide sitting on tall chairs, and the Turkish envoy on a lower chair, with the Israeli flag in the middle.
The ambassador was also filmed waiting in a corridor for the meeting to begin, and when it did, he was offered nothing to drink or eat.
Ayalon refused to apologize, saying Tuesday morning that he "didn't want to humiliate him, but merely to convey a message."
Ayalon called Celikkol for the meeting even before Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan had issued yet more scathing criticism of Israel, and set the meeting at the Knesset, and not in the Foreign Ministry as is generally the case in these types of situations.
Minister of Industry, Trade and Labor Binyamin Ben-Eliezer on Tuesday expressed his outrage over the "humiliation" of the envoy, which he perceived as "picking a fight with a country with 72 million Muslims.
Former Israeli ambassador to Turkey Alon Liel told the station that "a new sort of diplomacy" had been invented, and that Lieberman had "made up a new way of reprimanding."
"This time, they made him sit on a low chair, next time maybe they'll make him crawl, and who knows, maybe the time after that they'll beat him up at the entrance," he said.
Ayalon himself openly admitted that he and Foreign Minister Avidgor Lieberman had planned the details of the encounter, but told the radio station that such behavior was "standard diplomatic conduct," and offered no apology.
"I won't apologize. It's the Turks who should - for what [Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip] Erdogan said and for the television series," Ayalon said. "We are merely setting boundaries."
Celikkol, according to Turkish sources, did not even know beforehand the reason for the meeting. One official said that the whole episode was an "act of humiliation."
After the meeting, Ayalon said he told Celikkol that the television show, "against the backdrop of the very, very anti-Israeli rhetoric by the most senior officials in Turkey, not only harm relations, but also endanger the Jewish community in Turkey, the Israeli diplomats there, to say nothing of the Israeli tourists who visit there."
According to Ayalon's office, he told Celikkol the show was "intolerable."
Celikkol said he would pass on Israel's protests to Ankara.
"I won't apologize. It's the Turks who should - for what [Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip] Erdogan said and for the television series," Ayalon said. "We are merely setting boundaries."
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nice double team from Danny Ayalon and Avigdor Lieberman
fyi
for those who think Lieberman is just what Israel needs. Count me one.
Purposely insulting the Turkish ambassador over a TV show is NOT a good idea.
I don’t know if this was wise or not, but no question that relations with Turkey are deteriorating. The basic problem is that Turkey is abandoning their secular principles and returning to their old Islamic ways.
Too bad. They are no longer friendly with Israel and no longer can be counted on as allies of the West.
“Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu remained mum on the story that dominated Israeli and Turkish media throughout the day.”
Benj spoke...he’s definately communicating in his silence. He’s got bigger plans in mind and no doubt things in Mid-East require a steadfast hand on his part with all the backdoor politics now going on.
“Turkey is abandoning their secular principles and returning to their old Islamic ways”.....exactly right.
Their bid for Eu membership is all but gone...for this very reason, now Turkey’s joining the Islamic Mid-east group. Their Gov. now is weighted with Islamic members.
Boy do elections count! The Hard-Line Islamic Politicians took back their Gov. So can we!
Its a TV show......Im sure the super secret, badass Mossad agents will survive without the help of some gumball political hacks with visions of grandeur.
If you’d like to be on or off, please FR mail me.
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Oguz Celikkol, Turkey's ambassador to Israel... traveling to Ankara for consultations in reaction to what the Turks termed the shameful treatment he was given by Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon during a meeting the two held on Monday evening, and... may not return to Israel.Thanks dervish.
So, for most of 8 years we heard ad nauseum from the lamestream press about how terrible the situation was in the ME, how Bush should be able to broker a deal between Israel and it’s neighbors, blah, blah, blah.
Do we hear ONE WORD from either Obama on the deteriorating situation with Turkey? Nooooooooooooooo. Do we hear ONE WORD from the Sec. State? Nooooooooooooooooo. Do we hear ONE WORD from any other NATO member? Noooooooooooooooo.
Obama likely secretly supports Turkey moving away from friendly relations with Israel. He’s probably pleased.
BTT!
Sit in a low chair? That sounds like something from Chaplin’s Great Dictator. Or from Sara Palin’s first national interview. Lieberman and Ayalon ought to be slapped silly. With Turkey they get all huffy and demand respect. But they keep on countenancing further outrages from Obambistan, the PA and Hamastan.
Oguz Celikkol, Turkey's ambassador to Israel, reportedly told Arab MK Taleb a-Sanaa (UAL) Tuesday evening he will be traveling to Ankara for consultations in reaction to what the Turks termed the shameful treatment he was given by Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon during a meeting the two held on Monday evening, and that he may not return to Israel.from the FRchives:
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