Israel tries to soothe row
Israel's Defence Minister Ehud Barak met Turkey's foreign minister Ahmet Davutoglu yesterday to try to repair relations that were further strained this week by a diplomatic row in which Israel had to apologise for its treatment of the Turkish ambassador.
The diplomatic row erupted erupted last Monday after Israel's deputy foreign minister, Danny Ayalon, summoned Turkish Ambassador Ahmet Oguz Celikkol to complain about a TV drama that showed Israeli agents kidnapping children and shooting old men.
The ambassador was forced to sit on a low sofa without a handshake, while Mr Ayalon explained to local TV stations that the humiliation was intentional.
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Hide AdTurkey threatened to recall the ambassador, forcing Mr Ayalon to apologise.
Mr Ayalon said the Turkish ambassador could be expelled if Turkish TV dramas continued to depict Israeli security forces as brutal.