13/01/2010 The Turkish media reported Wednesday that Ankara has recalled its ambassador to Israel on Wednesday after Tel Aviv said it would not issue a formal apology for Deputy Foreign Minister Daniel Ayalon's treatment of the Turkish envoy.
 
"This is the final decision on the matter," a senior Foreign Ministry official claimed earlier Wednesday. The decision was made during consultations between the Foreign Ministry and the Prime Minister's Office, officials said.
 
Turkish ambassador to Israel Ahmet Oguz Celikkol will depart on Thursday morning. It is unclear when, or if, he will return.
 
Summoned Monday by Ayalon over a television show aired in Turkey, Celikkol was made to sit in a chair lower than that of the deputy foreign minister, while the Turkish flag was deliberately not on display during the meeting.
 
Turkey will recall its ambassador from Israel if a row over the envoy's treatment is not resolved by Wednesday evening, President Abdullah Gul was quoted as saying on Wednesday by the NTV news channel. "Unless they make up for it by this evening, our ambassador will return on the first plane tomorrow," Gul said, according to NTV.
 
Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said on Wednesday that his government had no desire to fall out with traditional ally Turkey but called on Ankara to show reciprocal "respect."
 
"You know regarding Turkey maybe it's time to clarify our position - we are not interested in confronting or arguing with Turkey," Lieberman was speaking to reporters on a visit to the Mediterranean island of Cyprus.
 
Earlier on Wednesday, Israel apologized for what media termed a "hazing" of the Turkish ambassador but maintained its complaint against a Turkish television drama it said portrayed Jews as baby-snatchers. 
 
"The prime minister believes that the foreign ministry's protest to the Turkish ambassador was just in its essence but should have been conveyed in an acceptable diplomatic manner," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said.
 
Ayalon issued a special statement of apology Tuesday night for his treatment of Celikkol on Monday. "My protest of the attacks against Israel in Turkey still stands," Ayalon said. "However, it is not my way to insult foreign ambassadors and in the future I will clarify my position by more acceptable diplomatic means."
 
Ayalon's comments followed Turkey's demand for an apology, clarification and "corrective steps" made during a meeting Israel's envoy in Turkey, Gaby Levy, had with Turkish Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Feridun Sinirlioglu.
 
At the beginning of the conversation with the Turkish envoy on Monday, Ayalon told cameramen in Hebrew: "Pay attention that he is sitting in a lower chair ... that there is only an Israeli flag on the table and that we are not smiling." 
 
One Turkish source said that Ayalon "set a trap" for Celikkol, and that the envoy had no idea that he was being humiliated until afterward when Ayalon's words to the cameramen were broadcast. The source also mentioned that Ayalon did shake his hand, but not in front of the cameras.
 
Ayalon, before the statement was released, told Army Radio that he would not apologize. "It's the Turks who should - for what [Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip] Erdogan said and for the television series," Ayalon said. "We are merely setting boundaries."
 
The Turkish ambassador and the Turkish government were furious at the humiliation of the envoy. In a sharply worded ultimatum to Israel earlier Tuesday, Ankara demanded an apology for what it described as Ayalon's demeaning treatment of its ambassador on Monday.
 
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu also spoke out against Ayalon's conduct. "There may be differences of opinion between states, and they may even criticize the policies of other countries, but all countries are obligated to comply with the rules of diplomatic courtesy and manners," Davutoglu said in a press conference in London with his British counterpart.
 
Netanyahu expressed concern at the deterioration of relations between Israel and Turkey. In talks behind closed doors, he said that during the past two years "Turkey has been steadily and systematically slipping eastward toward Syria and Iran," instead of westward, toward Europe and the United States. "This is a trend that should really trouble Israel," Netanyahu was quoted as saying.
 
Sources in the Israeli Prime Minister's Bureau said Tuesday the decision to invite the Turkish ambassador for a reprimand by Ayalon was made together with Lieberman. They noted that the Israeli PM was not aware of the way the reprimand would be carried out, "but the minute it happened the prime minister [gave] the foreign minister his full backing."
 
Official sources in Tel Aviv said Erdogan had changed his attitude towards Israel since Operation Cast Lead. "This process started when Erdogan abandoned a debate with President Shimon Peres (in Davos), so actually what is being done in Jerusalem is less important than what is happening in Ankara," one source said.
 
The Turkish Foreign Ministry Tuesday issued two statements critical of Israel. One focused on the treatment of the Turkish ambassador, the other on the TV program that angered Israel along with Israel's criticism of statements made by Erdogan Monday. "We hope the Israeli Foreign Ministry, which has assumed an undiplomatic attitude in its statements, will comply with diplomatic courtesy rules," the first statement read.
 
In the second statement, the Turkish Foreign Ministry charged that the behavior at Israel's Foreign Ministry stemmed from domestic political considerations held by Lieberman and Ayalon. The statement added that Prime Minister Erdogan has consistently worked to further peace in the Middle East and has been complimented for his efforts by many in the region.
 
Commenting on Israel's complaints about anti-Semitic programs on Turkish television, Turkish Foreign Ministry officials said these were "baseless." "Turkey views anti-Semitism as a crime against humanity and the statements of Prime Minister Erdogan on the subject are the best proof of this," the ministry stated.
 
Celikkol is expected to return to Ankara later this week to prepare for Sunday's scheduled visit by Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak, who - according to his spokesman - is determined to go ahead with the meeting and to smooth over the current crisis.

Erdogan said demonstratively on Tuesday that he would not meet with Barak. Before leaving for a visit to Russia, he said that "history is the witness that we have demonstrated the necessary tolerance to Jewish people. But any sort of an approach like [Ayalon's] will always be retaliated by Turkey."