Turkey and Israel expelled each other's envoys on Tuesday in an escalating diplomatic dispute over the killing by Israeli forces of 60 Palestinians a day during protests on the Gaza border, ''HAARETZ'' reports.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry ordered Israeli Ambassador Eitan Naeh to leave the country for consultations for an undetermined period of time. In response, Israel ordered the Turkish consul in Jerusalem, Husnu Gurcan Turkoglu, who is responsible for Turkey’s relations with the Palestinians, to return home for consultations. Turkey’s ambassador to Tel Aviv had already been recalled, as had Turkey’s ambassador in Washington.
In response to Israel expelling the Turkish envoy, Turkey summoned Israel's consul general in Istanbul, Yossi Levi Safri, and also asked him to leave the country.