According to the report, Gul said that the U.S. president had a point in questioning how Israel could enter negotiations with Hamas, who does not recognize the country’s right to exist, adding that he has told the Hamas that they must be “rational” about it.
Gul criticized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s refusal to accept the 1967 borders with land swaps as the preliminary condition for negotiations, saying that “Israel shouldn’t focus on tactical issues. They have to look at the strategic side.”
The Turkish president also said Hamas wanted its recognition of Israel’s right to exist to coincide with Israel’s recognition of a Palestinian state, adding that citizens across the Arab world would no longer be tolerant of Israel’s “humiliating” policies, the WSJ reported.
Turkey-Israel relations have deteriorated in recent years and reached a low point last May when nine Turkish citizens were killed as Israeli naval commandos boarded a Gaza-bound aid flotilla trying to break Israel’s siege on the coastal city.
Turkey was also severely critical of Israel’s three-week-long Operation Cast Lead in Gaza, which was launched in December 2008 in an effort to stop rocket fire by Gaza militants into bordering Israeli towns. More than 1,400 Palestinians and 13 Israelis were killed during the operation.
Following the offensive, Turkey called off a joint military drill with Israel, and relations were strained further after Israel rebuked the then Turkish envoy over a television show depicting Israeli soldiers as cold-blooded killers.
Turkey and the U.S. have since clashed repeatedly over its strained relations with Israel and increasing support of Iran.
