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Israel-Turkey diplomatic spat worsens, despite end of Gaza fighting By Barak Ravid The crisis in relations between Israel and Turkey, which began when the Gaza operation began three weeks ago, is getting worse. A political source in Jerusalem said that the head of the political-security bureau at the Defense Ministry, Amos Gilad, refused to meet with Ahmet Davutoglu, the senior foreign policy adviser to Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, while the two were in Cairo last week. Last Thursday, Amos Gilad visited Cairo for talks with Egypt's Omar Suleiman on a cease-fire agreement. At the time, Davutoglu, who had served as a mediator in Israel's talks with Syria in Istanbul, was in touch with Hamas politburo chief Khaled Meshal, who is based on Damascus. Advertisement At the start of the Gaza operation, Erdogan instructed Davutoglu to serve as a conduit between Hamas and the West and also try to involve Turkey in the cease-fire negotiations. Egypt expressed its reservations at Turkey's involvement and refused even to allow Davutoglu to sit in on talks with senior Hamas officials in Cairo. But it turns out that not only Egypt refused to have exchanges with Davutoglu. So did Israel. A political source in Jerusalem said that on Thursday, when Gilad was in Cairo, the Turkish ambassador to Egypt called his Israeli counterpart, Shalom Cohen. The Turkish ambassador asked for a meeting between Davutoglu and Gilad to deliver a message from Hamas. The political source said the Turks "asked for even a five-minute meeting" and that the ambassador called back several times. The Turkish request was relayed to Gilad by the Israeli ambassador, but he refused to meet with Davutoglu. The Israeli political source said the reason for the refusal was the deterioration in relations between Jerusalem and Ankara, stemming from the unprecedented verbal attacks by Erdogan on Israel. The source added that another reason was the unwillingness to allow the Turks to intervene in the cease-fire talks and the wish to rely solely on the Egyptian channel. Erdogan's attacks on Israel in recent weeks have been particularly fierce, with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert specifically targeted for what the Turkish leader called "lying to him and acting behind his back." The words of the leader of the AKP, Turkey's ruling Islamist party, were a source of anger among Turkey's military, where there is concern that the rift would undermine the strategic ties with Israel. Bookmark to del.icio.us   A new America President Obama: U.S. is a friend of all nations, ready to lead again. Ignoring white flags Gazans claim some Palestinians were waving white flags when shot by IDF.

Read & React Bradley Burston: Mr. Obama, grant Hamas the freedom to fail Responses: 55 David Grossman: Gaza success proves Israel is strong, not right Responses: 318 A. Eldar: As Obama is sworn in, Israelis and Palestinians will be thinking 'no we can't' Responses: 64 Report: Hamas leader says he never expected scale of IDF op in Gaza Responses: 80 Editorial: Bush will be remembered as a friend of Israel, despite his mistakes Responses: 60 More Headlines 23:24 President Obama: U.S. is a friend of all nations, ready to lead once more 23:52 Olmert: U.S.-Israeli relations will grow even stronger under Obama 21:51 Anti-apartheid hero Mandela calls Obama 'new voice of hope' 23:45 Americans cheer on Obama in inauguration parties in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv 23:25 IAF bombs Gaza target after 8 mortar shells fired at Israel 18:34 UN Chief: Hamas rocket attacks are 'appalling and unacceptable' 23:24 France may talk to Hamas even if group doesn't recognize Israel 12:19 Lieberman to Tibi: We must treat some Arab MKs like we treated Hamas 23:25 IAEA to probe Arab claim Israel used uranium ammo on Gaza 14:56 WATCH / Inside Israel medical center for Gaza residents 02:00 Obama considering George Mitchell as Mideast envoy 02:06 Israeli Lebanon war film 'Waltz with Bashir' shown in Beirut 00:32 Voldemort's sidekick turns Jewish psychiatrist in film on Nazi era 21:00 Gaza reporter caught on tape confirming Hamas fired rockets near TV offices 15:22 Israel pinning hopes for Hamas deal in Gaza on Egypt intel chief 14:09 Report: Hamas leader says he never expected scale of IDF op in Gaza 12:44 Olmert: Hamas responsible for damage IDF op caused in Gaza 13:44 Livni: We need progress on Shalit before we address Hamas demands 17:41 Aid agencies supply essentials to Palestinians following Gaza conflict Previous Editions Select Day 20 jan 19 jan 18 jan 16 jan 15 jan 14 jan 13 jan 12 jan 11 jan 09 jan 08 jan 07 jan

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