Main opposition CHP questions confidential Israel-Turkey agreements

ANKARA

CHP Deputy Head Sezgin Tanrıkulu. DHA Photo

Main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) Deputy Head Sezgin Tanrıkulu has addressed several Israel-related parliamentary questions to Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu, asking about the content of confidential accords between the two countries.

Tanrıkulu asked Davutoğlu to answer a parliamentary question regarding all political, trade, cultural and military agreements signed between Israel and Turkey from Jan. 1, 2003 to Nov. 1, 2014, which were not published in the Official Gazette.

The question recalled that Davutoğlu, during his time as foreign minister, had responded to a parliamentary question by CHP deputy Muharrem İnce on Nov. 9, 2009, in which he stated that a number of agreements with Israel were confidential and had not been published in the Official Gazette.

“Various agreements were signed with Israel, like many countries in the region and the world. Our many-faceted political, trade, cultural and military relations with Israel are also conducted in the framework of these agreements, like other states and international organizations … Some of the mentioned agreements were confidential due to the nature of the service; other [agreements] are being published in the Official Gazette,” read part of Davutoğlu’s written response to İnce’s parliamentary question in 2009.

In his own question, Tanrıkulu asked exactly why most of the agreements with Israel were kept confidential.

Turkey’s ties with Israel soured after the 2009 Davos crisis between President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who was prime minister at the time, and Israeli President Shimon Peres, in which Erdoğan expressed anger over the situation in the Gaza Strip. The ties came to breaking point on May 31, 2010, when Israel raided the “Mavi Marmara” vessel, which had left Turkey and was trying to break the blockade on Gaza, in international waters, killing nine activists.