“It is wrong to think that Turkish-Israeli relations have entered a deadlock that is impossible to get out of. Even if Israeli tourists deserted Turkish beaches this summer, the complex diplomatic relations between the two countries are still active,” noted Mazen Hammad in an opinion piece for the Jordanian newspaper Addustoor.

Following the deadly attack on the Freedom Flotilla, Ankara strongly condemned the aggression and recalled its ambassador to Tel Aviv. It also prevented Israeli aircraft from flying in its airspace while it cancelled joint military exercises.

But in other areas, relations between the two countries continue without disruption. There is a Turkish military delegation in Tel Aviv in a training programme on how to operate unmanned aircraft purchased from Israel. Commercial transactions were also not affected by seemingly chilled relations.

Furthermore, there is no indication of the possibility of freezing or calling off the Israeli-Turkish free trade agreement, although Turks fear the Israelis might cancel a contract worth $140 million to improve the capacity of Turkish intelligence aircraft.

Overall, however, commercial ties are stable and less likely to be affected, Israeli officials have been quoted as saying. A similar view was expressed by Soli Ozel, a professor of international relations, who stressed the importance of Turkey and Israel’s mutual interests...