Ankara Blocks NATO Cooperation with Israel Due to Gaza War
Turkey has blocked all NATO interactions with Israel since the outbreak of the Gaza war, including meetings and joint exercises.
Since October, Turkey has prevented any cooperation between the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and Israel due to the conflict in Gaza, reflecting the deepening rift between the two countries amid the ongoing conflict in the region.
Israel holds a partner status with NATO and has strengthened its close relations with the military alliance, particularly with its biggest ally, the United States. Prior to the Israeli military operations in Gaza, which followed the Hamas attack on October 7, Turkey, a NATO member, had been working to repair its long-strained relations with Israel.
Ankara has strongly condemned the Israeli operations in Gaza, calling them genocide. It has suspended all bilateral trade and criticized several Western allies for their support of Israel. According to anonymous sources, Turkey has objected to all NATO dealings with Israel since October, including meetings and joint exercises, viewing the “massacre” of Palestinians in Gaza as a violation of NATO‘s foundational principles.
A United Nations investigation conducted in June concluded that both Israeli military forces and Hamas had committed war crimes during the early stages of the conflict. It noted that Israel’s actions amounted to crimes against humanity due to the massive civilian casualties, which Israel rejects, claiming its operations in Gaza, which have killed nearly 40,000 people, aim to eliminate Palestinian resistance.
The same sources indicated that Turkey will continue to enforce this ban and will not allow Israel to continue or enhance its engagement with NATO until the conflict ends, as it believes that Israeli actions in Gaza violate international law and global human rights.
Following the NATO summit in Washington in July, Erdoğan stated that it was impossible for the alliance to maintain its partnership with the Israeli government. He added, “Until a comprehensive and sustainable peace is achieved in Palestine, Turkey will not approve any attempts to cooperate with Israel within the alliance.”
Earlier this week, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz urged NATO to expel Turkey after Erdoğan appeared to threaten intervention in Israel, as he has done in Libya and Nagorno-Karabakh in the past.
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The disagreements between Ankara and Israel due to the fallout from the Gaza war have led to the suspension of the trade agreement between the two countries. The Turkish president described Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a “new Hitler,” calling on the international community to oppose Israeli violations. In response, Netanyahu accused the Turks of supporting terrorist groups, referring to Hamas, and condemned the presence of Hamas leaders in Turkey.
