Israel is concerned about Erdogan’s surging popularity

By Ibrahim Abdullah, IOL Correspondent

CAIRO , July 5 (IslamOnline.net) – The earnest Turkish bids to get the membership of the newly-enlarged European Union will take its toll on the strategic and security relations between Turkey and Israel , according to a report released by the Israeli Defense Ministry.

Turkey ’s EU membership will also mean an end to Israeli weapon exports to Ankara , said the report, which was published Monday, July 5, in the Hebrew edition of Ha'aretz paper.

The dream of full EU membership undermines the influence of the powerful Turkish army, which will badly affect Israel ’s security apparatuses as Ankara will then opt for EU-made weapons and state-of-the-art technology, said the report.

It cited the beginning of security talks between both countries in 1996 to do away with the Europeans.

Elon Laiel, head of the trade liaison office between Israel and Turkey , said Turkey ’s accession to the expanding bloc will also have a domino effect on the entire countries of the Middle East .

In May, the Turkish parliament passed a package of constitutional amendments, paving the way for membership talks with the expanding European Union.

The amendments package is the eighth to be introduced to the parliament since 2001, when Ankara pledged to the EU to champion sweeping political, social and democratic reforms.

Several European countries have asserted that Ankara should first improve its record on human rights and reduce the military's influence over public life before mooting its EU membership bid.

On May 1, the Czech Republic , Cyprus , Estonia , Hungary , Latvia , Lithuania , Malta , Poland , Slovakia and Slovenia swelled the ranks of the euro family into 25 members.

Erdogan’s Ouster

But the Israeli report said the accession talks, which moves at a snail’s pace, gives the Turkish army a lot of opportunity to overthrow Islamist-oriented Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Voicing deep concern of Erdogan’s surging popularity, the report said if the EU put off the accession talks scheduled in December, the army would then topple the Premier as it did in 1997 with Necmettin Erbakan after one year of assuming power.

The report also said that the latest rapprochement between Turkey , on the one hand, and Syria and Iran , on the other, indicated Turkey ’s intentions to dispense with Israel .

The Israeli-Turkish relations hit an all-time low last month in the wake of the sweeping Israeli raid into the southern Palestinian city of Rafah, which killed at least 62 Palestinians, flattened 155 homes and made some 2000 residents homeless.

The tension capped by Turkey ’s recalling its ambassador from Israel in protest at the offensive.

The move came days after Erdogan described Israel ’s military aggressions against the Palestinians as "state terror".

More recently, Turkey voiced its deep concern at reports about Israeli presence in northern Iraq .