Turkey Blocks NATO-Israel Cooperation Until Gaza War Ends

UNSPLASH/vicky hall-newman ILLUSTRATION

JAKARTA - Turkey blocks cooperation between NATO and Israel due to war in Gaza. Turkey said the alliance should not establish relations with Israel as a partner until the conflict ends.

Israel holds the status of a NATO partner and has fostered close ties with the military alliance and some of its members, especially its largest ally, the United States.

Prior to the Israeli attack on Gaza was triggered by the attack by the Palestinian militant group Hamas on 7 October Turkey, a NATO member, seeking to improve long-tight relations with Israel.

Since then, Ankara has been critical of Israel's operations in Gaza, which is considered genocide, and has stopped all bilateral trade. They also condemned many Western allies for their support for Israel.

As reported by Reuters on Thursday, August 1, unnamed sources said Turkey had vetoed all NATO engagement with Israel since October, including gatherings and joint exercises, and viewed Israel's killing' against Palestinians in Gaza as a violation of NATO's basic principles.

A UN investigation in June found Israel and Hamas had committed war crimes in the early stages of the Gaza war.

Israel's actions are called crimes against humanity due to enormous civil losses. Israel rejected this and said its operations in Gaza, which have killed nearly 40,000 people, aimed at eradicating Hamas.

The source said Turkey would maintain this blockade and not allow Israel to continue or increase its interaction with NATO until the conflict ends, as Turkey believes Israel's actions in Gaza violate international law and universal human rights.

After a NATO summit in Washington in July, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said NATO was unlikely to continue its partnership with the Israeli government.

Earlier this week, Israeli foreign ministers urged the alliance to expel Turkey after Erdogan appeared threatening to enter Israel, as happened in Libya and Nagorno-Karabakh in the past.