Ankara: Turkey has suspended NATO cooperation with Israel since October over the war in the Gaza Strip, saying the alliance should not engage with Israel as a partner until the conflict ends, sources with knowledge of the process said.
Israel is a NATO ally and has built close ties with some of its military allies and members, most notably its largest ally, the United States.
Before Israel launched its offensive on the Gaza Strip, triggered by a Hamas offensive on October 7, NATO member Turkiye had been trying to restore long-strained relations with Israel.
Since then, Ankara has been fiercely critical of Israel's operations in the Gaza Strip, which it says amount to genocide, and has suspended all bilateral trade.
It also attacked several Western allies that support Israel.
The source, who asked not to be named, said Turkiye had vetoed all NATO engagement with Israel since October, including joint meetings and exercises, and viewed Israel's “massacre” of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip as a violation of NATO's founding principles.
A UN investigation in June found that both Israel and Hamas committed war crimes at the start of the Gaza war.
The report said Israel's actions amounted to crimes against humanity because they caused massive civilian deaths. Israel denies the allegations and says its operation in the Gaza Strip, which has killed nearly 40,000 people, was aimed at eliminating Hamas.
The source said Turkiye would maintain the block and not allow Israel to continue or promote its interactions with NATO until the conflict ended, as it believed Israel's actions in Gaza violated international law and universal human rights.
After a NATO summit in Washington in July, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said NATO could not continue its cooperation with the Israeli government.
Earlier this week, Israel's foreign minister called on its allies to expel Turkey after Erdogan appeared to threaten to annex Libya, as he did in Libya and Nagorno-Karabakh in the past.
Erdogan condemns “treacherous assassination” in Tehran of his close ally and “brother” Ismail Haniyeh, the political leader of Hamas.
“May God have mercy on my brother Ismail Haniyeh, who was killed in this despicable attack,” Erdogan wrote on social media platform X, condemning the “Zionist atrocities.”
“This shameful act is aimed at undermining the Palestinian cause, the glorious resistance of the Gazans and the just struggle of our Palestinian brothers, and at intimidating the Palestinians,” Erdogan added.
Thousands of protesters marched after evening prayers in Istanbul to condemn the killings, with many waving Turkish and Palestinian flags and chanting slogans of hostility towards Israel. An Israeli flag was also burned.
“I came here because Israel killed a representative of the Palestinian people,” said Mehmet, a 44-year-old protester.
“The great powers have a crucial role to play. If they fail to prevent these massacres, history will accuse us of overlooking them.”
