Turkey confirms it barred Israel from military exercise because of Gaza war

Turkey's foreign minister said yesterday that his government cancelled a planned joint military exercise with Israel in protest against that country's offensive on Gaza ten months ago. The move is a clear sign the offensive, in which over 1,100 Palestinians were killed is still causing the Jewish state diplomatic damage. The Nato air exercises with Israel were due to begin today in Turkey's Anatolian region, but days earlier Ankara told the Israeli military it was no longer invited to attend. The US and Italy subsequently opted not to take part either and the war games were called off. The Turkish foreign ministry issue a statement saying the decision was not political. However, when asked about the issue, the foreign minister, Ahmet Davutoglu, told CNN : "We hope the situation in Gaza will be improved, that the situation will be back to the diplomatic track. And that will create a new atmosphere in Turkish-Israeli relations as well. But in the existing situation, of course, we are criticising this approach, [the] Israeli approach."