Istanbul (CNN) -- Turkey ordered the expulsion of Israel's ambassador and other senior diplomats stationed there on Friday, a dramatic slap against its one-time close ally over its failure to apologize for a deadly raid last year on a Gaza-bound ship in a flotilla loaded with humanitarian aid.
Low-level officials are allowed to stay, but others must leave by Wednesday, a Turkish official said. Turkey has been incensed with Israel after its commandos clashed with Turks on one of the flotilla ships, the Mavi Marmara, and killed nine people.
This comes on the same day that U.N. released a report about the May 2010 raid. The document criticized Israel's actions in the incident, even as it describes the Israeli naval blockade of Gaza as a "legitimate security measure." Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon received a copy of the report on Friday, a U.N. spokesman said.
Eduardo del Buey, deputy spokesman for Ban, said the secretary-general regretted that the report did not bridge the gap between Turkey and Israel. Victoria Nuland, spokeswoman for the U.S. State Department, echoed that sentiment.
"We hope they will continue to look for opportunities to improve their long-standing relationship, and we will encourage both to work towards that end," she said. Israel expressed its sorrow at the loss of life, but said it "will not apologize for its soldiers taking action to defend their lives. As any other state, Israel has the right to defend its civilians and soldiers."
Israel's blockade of Gaza is designed to prevent weapons from being smuggled to the territory, which is controlled by the anti-Israeli group Hamas. Gaza-based militants have been firing rockets into southern Israel and Israel has responded with military might.
But Turkey has been strongly opposed to the Jewish state's naval blockade of the Palestinian territory of Gaza because, an official said, Palestinians have suffered from the action and other Israeli policies in the densely-populated region.
"It is about time for the Israeli government to face the consequences of its illegitimate actions since it sees itself above international law and ignores human conscience and must pay a price," Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Friday. "This price will be, above all, the loss of Turkey's friendship."
Turkey has been Israel's closest and steadiest Muslim ally since the Jewish state was founded. The relationship has had political, economic and military components, and both countries have been stalwart Western allies during the Cold War and over the subsequent decades.
In fact, trade has grown from 2008 to 2010, according to Turkey's economy ministry's website.
Turkey's imports from Israel totaled $842 million from January to July in 2010 and $1.1 billion during the same period in 2011. Turkey's January to July exports to Israel was $1.1 billion in 2010 and $1.3 billion in 2011.
But ties between the nations have deteriorated during the administration of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan -- long critical of Israel's policies in Gaza.
Davutoglu said military agreements have been suspended. But a senior Turkish official said that existing contracts must be honored "no matter what" and "we haven't touched upon intelligence sharing."
Israel and Turkey have long had a close military relationship, but there have been no joint exercises for more than a year and a half amid tensions between both sides.
The two countries have been negotiating for months in an attempt to improve their faltering relationship, but those efforts have failed. The release of the report was delayed while those negotiations continued.
"We've waited and waited," the senior Turkish official told CNN. "There was almost an agreement that Netanyahu agreed upon... They're just wasting our time." He was referring to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
"This makes it official. Before it was de facto, there was nothing going on, but definitely there was contact," said the official, who asked not to be named because of diplomatic protocol.
One analyst said, "Turkey has been warning Israel for months that it would do this and Israel chose to ignore it."
Hugh Pope, senior Turkey analyst with the International Crisis Group, argued that Turkey made a concession earlier this year, by preventing the Mavi Marmara from leading a second proposed blockade-busting flotilla to Gaza.
Pope said Turkey's stance on Israel could be risky in its relationship with the United States. But the country -- while critical of Israel and friendly with Iran, Israel's arch-enemy -- has been firmly in the Western camp lately.
Low-level officials are allowed to stay, but others must leave by Wednesday, a Turkish official said. Turkey has been incensed with Israel after its commandos clashed with Turks on one of the flotilla ships, the Mavi Marmara, and killed nine people.
This comes on the same day that U.N. released a report about the May 2010 raid. The document criticized Israel's actions in the incident, even as it describes the Israeli naval blockade of Gaza as a "legitimate security measure." Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon received a copy of the report on Friday, a U.N. spokesman said.
Eduardo del Buey, deputy spokesman for Ban, said the secretary-general regretted that the report did not bridge the gap between Turkey and Israel. Victoria Nuland, spokeswoman for the U.S. State Department, echoed that sentiment.
"We hope they will continue to look for opportunities to improve their long-standing relationship, and we will encourage both to work towards that end," she said. Israel expressed its sorrow at the loss of life, but said it "will not apologize for its soldiers taking action to defend their lives. As any other state, Israel has the right to defend its civilians and soldiers."
Israel's blockade of Gaza is designed to prevent weapons from being smuggled to the territory, which is controlled by the anti-Israeli group Hamas. Gaza-based militants have been firing rockets into southern Israel and Israel has responded with military might.
But Turkey has been strongly opposed to the Jewish state's naval blockade of the Palestinian territory of Gaza because, an official said, Palestinians have suffered from the action and other Israeli policies in the densely-populated region.
"It is about time for the Israeli government to face the consequences of its illegitimate actions since it sees itself above international law and ignores human conscience and must pay a price," Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Friday. "This price will be, above all, the loss of Turkey's friendship."
Turkey has been Israel's closest and steadiest Muslim ally since the Jewish state was founded. The relationship has had political, economic and military components, and both countries have been stalwart Western allies during the Cold War and over the subsequent decades.
In fact, trade has grown from 2008 to 2010, according to Turkey's economy ministry's website.
Turkey's imports from Israel totaled $842 million from January to July in 2010 and $1.1 billion during the same period in 2011. Turkey's January to July exports to Israel was $1.1 billion in 2010 and $1.3 billion in 2011.
But ties between the nations have deteriorated during the administration of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan -- long critical of Israel's policies in Gaza.
Davutoglu said military agreements have been suspended. But a senior Turkish official said that existing contracts must be honored "no matter what" and "we haven't touched upon intelligence sharing."
Israel and Turkey have long had a close military relationship, but there have been no joint exercises for more than a year and a half amid tensions between both sides.
The two countries have been negotiating for months in an attempt to improve their faltering relationship, but those efforts have failed. The release of the report was delayed while those negotiations continued.
"We've waited and waited," the senior Turkish official told CNN. "There was almost an agreement that Netanyahu agreed upon... They're just wasting our time." He was referring to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
"This makes it official. Before it was de facto, there was nothing going on, but definitely there was contact," said the official, who asked not to be named because of diplomatic protocol.
One analyst said, "Turkey has been warning Israel for months that it would do this and Israel chose to ignore it."
Hugh Pope, senior Turkey analyst with the International Crisis Group, argued that Turkey made a concession earlier this year, by preventing the Mavi Marmara from leading a second proposed blockade-busting flotilla to Gaza.
Pope said Turkey's stance on Israel could be risky in its relationship with the United States. But the country -- while critical of Israel and friendly with Iran, Israel's arch-enemy -- has been firmly in the Western camp lately.
