ANKARA, Turkey — Five days before Israel’s election, Defense Minister Benny Gantz traveled to Turkey on an official visit as a guest of Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar. Shortly after landing in Ankara, it was announced that Gantz will also meet with Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
This is the first visit of an Israeli defense minister to Turkey in a decade, after relations between Israel and Turkey grew very cold in light of differences on the Palestinian issue and following the Mavi Marmara flotilla incident (with nine Turkish nationals killed by Israel Defense Forces fire). Still, despite the hostility, along the years contact between the Israeli and Turkish defense establishments was never severed. The two nations cooperated discreetly, especially in the realm of intelligence.
