The deterioration in Israeli-Turkish relations and its international ramifications

"Tensions between Ankara and Jerusalem have escalated since Turkey harshly criticized Israel following its invasion of the Gaza Strip in December 2008 (Operation Cast Lead). The operation aimed to halt continuous missile attacks on Israel's civilian population by Hamas. Soon after, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's outburst at Israeli President Shimon Peres at the World Economic Forum in Davos in January 2009 indicated further cooling between the two powers. Additionally, in October 2009 Turkey abruptly canceled Israel's participation in the multinational "Anatolian Eagle" air exercise. This was followed by Turkish political leaders' severe criticism of Israeli policies. Subsequently, an inflammatory anti-Israeli drama series on Turkey's state-controlled television station depicting IDF soldiers as cold-blooded murderers and rapists only exacerbated tensions. Since the fall of 2009, hardly a week has passed without Erdogan slamming Israel. Finally, Israeli military action to prevent the "Gaza flotilla" from breaking the blockade on the Hamas-ruled Strip in June 2010, which ended with nine Turkish Islamists dead on board one of the ships, provided Erdogan's government another op