Türkiye Blocks NATO-Israel Cooperation over Gaza War

A journalist casts a shadow next to logos on the day of the NATO 75th Anniversary celebratory event in Washington, US, July 9, 2024. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
A journalist casts a shadow next to logos on the day of the NATO 75th Anniversary celebratory event in Washington, US, July 9, 2024. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
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Türkiye Blocks NATO-Israel Cooperation over Gaza War

A journalist casts a shadow next to logos on the day of the NATO 75th Anniversary celebratory event in Washington, US, July 9, 2024. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
A journalist casts a shadow next to logos on the day of the NATO 75th Anniversary celebratory event in Washington, US, July 9, 2024. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights

Türkiye has blocked cooperation between NATO and Israel since October because of the war in Gaza and said the alliance should not engage with Israel as a partner until there is an end to the conflict, sources familiar with the process said, Reuters reported.

Israel carries the status of NATO partner and has fostered close relations with the military alliance and some of its members, notably its biggest ally the United States.

Prior to Israel's offensive in Gaza - prompted by Palestinian militant group Hamas' Oct. 7 rampage - NATO member Türkiye had been working to mend its long-strained ties with Israel.

Since then, Ankara has been fiercely critical of Israel's operation in Gaza, which it says amounts to a genocide, and has halted all bilateral trade. It has also slammed many Western allies for their support of Israel.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, the sources said Türkiye had vetoed all NATO engagement with Israel since October, including joint meetings and exercises, viewing Israel's "massacre" of Palestinians in Gaza as a violation of NATO's founding principles.

A UN inquiry in June found that both Israel and Hamas had committed war crimes in the early stages of the Gaza war. It said Israel's actions constituted crimes against humanity because of the immense civilian losses. Israel rejects this and says its operation in Gaza, which has killed nearly 40,000 people, aims to eradicate Hamas.

The sources said Türkiye would maintain this block and not allow Israel to continue or advance its interaction with NATO until there was an end to the conflict, as it believes Israel's actions in Gaza violate international law and universal human rights.

After a NATO summit in Washington in July, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said it was not possible for NATO to continue its partnership with the Israeli administration.

Earlier this week, Israel's foreign minister urged the alliance to expel Türkiye after Erdogan appeared to threaten to enter Israel, as it had Libya and Nagorno-Karabakh in the past.



Biden, Trump Security Advisers Meet to Pass Ceremonial Baton

US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan (L) hands a baton to incoming National Security Advisor Mike Waltz during an event at the US Institute of Peace in Washington, DC, on January 14, 2025. (AFP)
US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan (L) hands a baton to incoming National Security Advisor Mike Waltz during an event at the US Institute of Peace in Washington, DC, on January 14, 2025. (AFP)
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Biden, Trump Security Advisers Meet to Pass Ceremonial Baton

US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan (L) hands a baton to incoming National Security Advisor Mike Waltz during an event at the US Institute of Peace in Washington, DC, on January 14, 2025. (AFP)
US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan (L) hands a baton to incoming National Security Advisor Mike Waltz during an event at the US Institute of Peace in Washington, DC, on January 14, 2025. (AFP)

Top advisers to US President Joe Biden and President-elect Donald Trump put aside their differences - mostly - for a symbolic "passing of the torch" event focused on national security issues on Tuesday.

Biden national security adviser Jake Sullivan passed a ceremonial baton to US Congressman Mike Waltz, Trump's pick for the same job, in a revival of a Washington ritual organized by the nonpartisan United States Institute of Peace since 2001.

The two men are normally in the media defending their bosses' opposing views on Ukraine, the Middle East and China.

On Tuesday, Waltz and Sullivan politely searched for common ground on a panel designed to project the continuity of power in the United States.

"It's like a very strange, slightly awkward version of 'The Dating Game,' you know the old game where you wrote down your answer, and that person wrote down their answer, and you see how much they match up," said Sullivan.

The event offered a preview of what may be in store on Monday when Trump is inaugurated as president. This peaceful transfer of power, a hallmark of more than two centuries of American democracy, comes four years after Trump disputed and never conceded his loss in the 2020 election.

This time the two sides are talking. Sullivan, at Biden's request, has briefed Waltz privately, at length, on the current administration's policy around the world even as the Trump aide has regularly said the new team will depart radically from it.

Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and Biden's envoy Brett McGurk are working together this week to close a ceasefire deal in the region for hostages held by Hamas in Gaza.

Asked about the key challenges facing the new administration, Waltz and Sullivan on Tuesday both pointed to the California wildfires and China.

Sullivan also highlighted a hostage deal and artificial intelligence as key issues.

Waltz pointed to the US border with Mexico, an area where Trump has ripped Biden's approach.

But he credited the Biden administration with deepening ties between US allies in Asia.

For all the bonhomie between the two men, and the talk of the prospects for peace in the Middle East, Waltz painted a picture of the grimmer decisions awaiting him in his new job.

"Evil does exist," he said. "Sometimes you just have to put bombs on foreheads."