Exercises as a sign of increased cooperation among growing countries see Turkey as a competitor in the Mediterranean.
The Israeli military says it has conducted a joint naval exercise with Greece and Cyprus, in the latest sign of cooperation among three countries that increasingly see Turkey as a competitor. in the Mediterranean.
They said the Noble Dina exercise, led by Israel and also involving France, covered “anti-submarine procedures, search and rescue situations, and a similar situation. to a battle between ships ”. Exercise was pending Thursday.
“Over the past week, the navy led a large-scale exercise in which it deployed capabilities in underwater combat, search and rescue, convoy defenders and surface combat,” said Rear Admiral Eyal Harel , Israeli naval chief of operations, Friday.
“These exercises are extremely important in strengthening the naval link with foreign fleets of common interests,” he said.
Israel, Greece and Cyprus have taken several steps in recent months to strengthen ties, including plans to build a 2,000-megawatt submarine power cable and a 1,900 submarine gas pipeline. km (1,300-miles). The defense ministers of the three countries met in November and agreed to increase military cooperation.
Greece and Cyprus are embroiled in a dispute with Turkey, which has sent gas exploration vessels into Greek-claimed waters and drilled vessels into an area where Cyprus claims exclusive rights. NATO tensions brought Greece and Turkey close to open conflict last year, but tensions have eased since then.
Israel and Turkey suffered a major setback in 2010, when 10 Turkish citizens were killed by Israeli forces when a Turkish-led flotilla tried to halt Israeli havoc on the Gaza Strip.
Both countries agreed to a settlement agreement that broke the U.S. in 2016, but ties broke down two years later over the U.S. decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is portraying himself as a supporter of the Palestinian cause and has given political support to Hamas, which seized power in Gaza from Palestinian rival forces in 2007.
Several Hamas leaders are based in Turkey, and Erdogan met with the group’s chief executive, Ismail Haniya, in December 2019.
Israel and the West see Hamas as a “terrorist” group. Turkey is considered a legitimate political actor because it won the Palestinian parliamentary elections in 2006, and refuses to support the group’s armed wing.