Despite the newest round of violence between Israel and Hamas, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is keeping a measured narrative in his response. “On one side, Israel would wish to normalize its relations with us, on the other side these escalations continue — as long as Israeli aggravation continues, it is not possible to normalize the Turkey-Israel relationship,” he said July 11. “Our conditions were clear: apology [for the 11 dead from the May 2010 Mavi Marmara incident]; compensation and lifting of the blockade to Palestine [Gaza]. I was told that the paper was waiting at [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s] desk, but this [Israeli operation] takes away all of it.”
This was a much calmer tone compared to an Erdogan who lost his temper with Israeli President Shimon Peres in January 2009 at the World Economic Forum in Davos and stormed offstage during a discussion on Gaza, saying, “When it comes to killing, you know well how to kill!"