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Escalating political crises leads to the effective closure of Israel's most popular budget holiday destination. All Israeli flights to Turkey have been canceled due to the escalating political crises between the two countries, effectively closing Israel's most popular holiday destination. Yossi Fatael, Managing Director of the Association of Israeli Travel Agents, acknowledged that the previously vibrant Israeli holiday industry in Turkey has come to a sudden halt. "Right now the movement from Israel to Turkey has stopped completely, and all outgoing flights for the next three weeks have been canceled," he told The Media Line. "Turkey was a major destination for the Israeli market. It's obvious that it will no longer be a major destination, if at all." The news follows the botched take-over of a Turkish ship by Israeli commandos. The vessel was carrying humanitarian supplies along with hundreds of pro-Palestinian activists attempting to break the Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip. Nine passengers were killed and dozens wounded, including a number of Israeli soldiers, two of them seriously. There are a number of competing claims as to what took place. Limited footage of the incident released by the Israeli army shows dozens of activists beating Israeli soldiers with clubs and knives and attempting to throw one overboard as troops descended onto the ship from hovering navy helicopters. Activists who were on the boat, however, claim that Israel shot tear gas, sound bombs and live fire at the ship prior its soldiers boarding. Some have claimed that two of the activists were killed prior to the soldiers boarding. Regardless of what actually took place, the incident has created another diplomatic crisis for Israel, with dozens of world leaders condemning the attack in unusually harsh terms. Arguably the leader among them, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, described the assault on the Turkish ship as a "bloody massacre" that "deserves every kind of curse." Speaking to the Turkish parliament after rushing home from a Latin American trip to deal with the crisis, Erdoğan said "Israel cannot clean the blood off its hands through any excuse... It is no longer possible to cover up or ignore Israel's lawlessness." Israel contends that organizers of the flotilla collaborated with an Islamic group that has ties to Al-Qa'ida in fomenting premeditated violence perpetrated by as many as 100 "mercenaries." Israeli visits to Turkey had boomed in the years preceding the December 2008-January 2009 Israeli military operation in the Gaza Strip, launched by Israel in response to years of rocket attacks. Well over half a million Israeli tourists visited Turkey in 2007 and 2008. But the Israeli military operation led to a public diplomatic crises between the two countries, and a heated exchange between Israeli President Shimon Peres and Turkish Prime Minister Erdoğan at an international conference in Davos. Relations between the two former allies have deteriorated ever since and last year 2,000 Israeli workers' unions declared a boycott against Turkey as a pressure tactic to try elicit an apology from the Turkish prime minister for his alleged attacks on Israel. The boycott included the workers' unions in the Prime Minister's Office; the Israeli airline El Al; the Hebrew University in Jerusalem; the Tel Aviv-Jaffa municipality; the Communications Ministry; Israel Railways; and the national bus company, Egged. According to the Association of Turkish Travel Agencies, the boycott and deteriorating relations brought the number of Israelis holidaying in Turkey from 558,000 in 2008 down to 311,000 in 2009, a 44% drop. Nonetheless, Turkey has remained one of the most popular destinations for Israelis seeking a budget holiday. "We are waiting to see the developments before deciding weather to continue the services in July and august," said Fatael, managing director of the Association of Israeli Travel Agents. "The Turkish hoteliers and tourism ministry try to tell us that there is a difference between politics and tourism. But even local Jews in Turkey are feeling uncomfortable." "Israelis are known as a tourist audience that is adaptable," he said. "We were among the first to arrive back in Turkey after the earthquake, and after some PKK terrorist attacks. But when the situation is specifically against us, we have nothing to adapt to. It's not that we are disagreeing while respecting each other, there is now a message of hatred from the government. We are not welcome there and it was said in a clear, loud voice from the head of the country." Oren Drori, Deputy Director General of Israel's Ministry of Tourism, said the picture looked grim for at least the summer. "Israelis are brave but they are not stupid," he told The Media Line. "There is a specific travel advisory not to go because of the mood and the atmosphere in the street, and what we do know is that there are plenty of cancellations and there certainly aren't any new bookings." "On top of that, in my personal opinion people are 'voting' their feet," he said. "I think that in part it's a protest by the public against the policy of the Turkish government as a whole." "That said, we all know that memory is short," Drori added. "So I don't know when or if things will improve, but it looks like the numbers this summer will drop tremendously." Turkish Culture and Tourism Minister Ertuğrul Günay, speaking to journalists in Ankara on Tuesday, confirmed that Israelis are canceling tens of thousands of reservations. "We have no problem with the people of Israel," he was quoted by the Anatolia news agency as saying. "Turkey is a country that offers safe travel and holiday for Israel, near the Middle East. This won't change. It will be the same after the Israeli people oust that intolerant government." Cruises carrying Israeli passengers to resorts along Turkey's Mediterranean course have reportedly changed course and headed to Greece instead. El Al, Israel's international airline, has frozen a code-share agreement with Atlas Jet for flights from Tel Aviv to Istanbul, which was set to begin at the end of the month. The Israeli Foreign Ministry has meanwhile advised its citizens not to travel to Turkey and recalled the families of Israeli diplomats stationed in the country over fears for their safety after Turkish citizens began protesting outside the Israeli embassy and consulate. Turkey's annual trade with Israel is around $2.5 billion, with an additional $20 billion of joint energy, agriculture and water projects including a pipeline to carry gas, electricity and fiber-optic cables from Turkey to the Far East via Israel. Turkey is also set to take delivery of $140 million worth of unmanned surveillance aircraft to enhance the capabilities of Turkey's F-4 2020 and F-16 fighter jets. As of Tuesday, Turkish Defense Minister Vecdi Gönül said he did not foresee any obstacles to the delivery. | ||
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http://themedialine.org/news/news_detail.asp?NewsID=29004
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