Turkey on Tuesday told the Israeli ambassador to temporarily leave the country in protest at the killing of dozens of Palestinians by Israeli troops on the Gaza border.
Ambassador Eitan Naeh was summoned to the foreign ministry and told to "return to his country for a period of time", According to the diplomatic sources.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan described Monday's bloodshed, the deadliest for Palestinians since the 2014 Gaza conflict, as genocide and called Israel a terrorist state. Erdoğan, who is campaigning for presidential and parliamentary elections next month, said a rally will be held on Friday to protest the killings. By repeatedly hitting out at Israel, Erdoğan may be catering to his voter base but it is meaningless after all the fund relations like million dollars worth accords, armour dealings and natural gas trade.
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Twitter Erdoğan was in no position to "preach morality to us" because he supported the Palestinian Islamist organisation Hamas which rules Gaza. "There is no doubt he well understands terrorism and slaughter," Netanyahu tweeted.
Ambassador Naeh had been in his post only since December 2016 after a reconciliation deal earlier that year ended a so-called "crisis" over the deadly storming of a Turkish ship by Israeli commandos in 2010.
In 2010 Israeli marines stormed an aid ship to enforce a naval blockade of Gaza, killing 10 Turkish activists.
Israel and Turkish government's relationship was crowned when Israel paid "blood money" for those who lost their lives in an Israeli raid on the Turkish aid flotilla, Mavi Marmara. About two years ago, it is still being remembered that Erdoğan back-pedaled by saying "Did you take the permission of the-then Prime Minister?" about the victims of Mavi Marmara attack. Forgetting that he had said "We gave the permission" two years before this statement.
