Visiting Turkish lawmakers: No crisis in ties with Israel

A group of senior advisers of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said yesterday there is no crisis in relations between Israel and Turkey.

The delegation of parliamentarians from the ruling Justice and Development party yesterday completed its visit here. The MPs met with Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom and other officials, visited the Temple Mount, and toured part of the separation fence during their visit.

In a meeting with journalists yesterday, the group condemned Tuesday's suicide bombings in Be'er Sheva, but continued Turkey's harsh criticism of Israel's policies in the territories.

"Our relations with Israel are based on very strong foundations, and when we see mistakes in the regional policy [of Israel], there is nothing more normal than criticism," said Omer Celik, a Turkish parliamentarian from the southern city of Adana and senior adviser to Erdogan. "This does not mean there is a crisis or a problem in the relationship," he said.

"We have always been open, and we will continue to apply our right to be critical. On the contrary, were we to keep quiet in view of the events in the region, this would be a sign of crisis," he continued.

"We were very saddened by the attacks that took place while we were in Israel and condemned them... We view them as a barrier to a peaceful area. But at the same time, we view the use of violence in the name of war on terrorism, the targeting of civilians, assassinations by the state, the construction of walls, and unilateral withdrawals as obstacles to creating a peaceful environment," Celik said.

The MP also justified previous comments made by Erdogan, who called Israel's assassination of Hamas leaders "state-sponsored terrorism."

"That same Turkey that criticized [Israel] was also the most vocal in saying that anti-Semitism is a crime against humanity," Celik said.

The delegation reiterated its country's offer to mediate between Israel, the Palestinians and the Syrians.

Another member of the delegation, one of Erdogan's advisers on foreign policy, MP Egemen Bagis, rejected reports that the Turkish prime minister has frozen defense contracts with Israel.

Bagis said that his government put on hold a number of tenders that include American, Russian and European firms in order to save money.

Delegation members noted that their party was not Islamic, but rather conservative-democratic, and aims to preserve traditional values of Turkish society while being open to Europe's liberal traditions.