[Israel]: Message for Türkiye

[Zak]

STATE OF ISRAEL​

Dear Government of Türkiye,

The State of Israel extends its respect to the Republic of Türkiye and reaffirms its commitment to combating terrorism and promoting regional security.

Recognizing the security challenges posed by terrorist organizations, Israel wishes to express its readiness to explore practical avenues of cooperation with Türkiye in efforts directed against the PKK, should such cooperation be welcomed by the Turkish Government and conducted in accordance with international law.

Israel is prepared to discuss the provision of military intelligence support, including the gaining and sharing of relevant military and strategic intelligence, analytical capabilities, technical intelligence assets, and other intelligence resources that may assist in improving situational awareness and counterterrorism coordination.

In addition, Israel is willing to consider, at the request of and in close coordination with the Government of Türkiye, further forms of security cooperation. These could include intelligence liaison, counterterrorism expertise, training exchanges, and other mutually agreed forms of assistance that respect the sovereignty and legal frameworks of both states.

Israel believes that pragmatic security cooperation between our nations can contribute to protecting civilian lives, countering terrorist threats, and fostering greater regional stability.

Should the Government of Türkiye be interested, Israel would welcome the opportunity for senior officials and security representatives to hold a virtual conference and discuss the parameters of such cooperation through appropriate diplomatic channels.

Kind Regards,
Naftali Bennett
Prime Minister of Israel
State of Israel

This email and any accompanying documents are intended exclusively for the designated recipient(s) and may contain information that is confidential, proprietary, or legally privileged. If you are not the intended recipient, please inform the sender immediately and permanently delete this message from your system. Any unauthorized access, reproduction, distribution, or use of this communication is strictly prohibited.

Please be advised that all correspondence originating from the State of Israel is transmitted using state-sanctioned encryption protocols. While every effort has been made to ensure this message and its attachments are free from harmful content, the sender cannot accept liability for any potential damage or data loss resulting from their use.

Jay

 

[Jay]

Dışişleri Bakanlığı Ministry of Foreign Affairs​

AUTHENTIC COMMUNIQUE OF THE OFFICE OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS Security Clearance: Secure and Encrypted ŞİFRELEME KORUMASI: KAPLUĞA​

[Recipient]: Office of the Prime Minister, Israel < Zak > [Sender]: Office of the Prime Minister, Türkiye < BaşbakanlıkOfisi@tr.gov > [Subject]: Confidential // Diplomatic Ties & Counter-Terrorism Cooperation.

Dear Prime Minister Bennett, On behalf of the Republic of Türkiye, I acknowledge receipt of the communication conveyed by the State of Israel regarding potential avenues of security and counterterrorism cooperation, including with respect to the PKK, an organization recognized by Türkiye, the United States, and other partners as a terrorist entity responsible for sustained loss of life on Turkish soil. My Government welcomes the solidarity you have offered in the fight against the PKK's terrorism and Türkiye's position on the PKK, and on affiliated or aligned structures operating in Syria and Iraq. While any technical or operational exchanges on counterterrorism matters will be assessed on their own merits, it is my hope that the cooperation between our two countries be in the service of a more prosperous regional order. The Government of Türkiye continues to view the situation in Jerusalem and the wider question of Palestinian statehood as a matter of fundamental and enduring concern. Türkiye's approach to the bilateral relationship with Israel cannot be separated from developments on the ground. We have noted that the wider region stands at a juncture where renewed diplomatic engagement, if pursued in good faith and grounded in mutual respect for sovereignty and international law, could contribute to a more stable and integrated regional order. My Government remains prepared to play a constructive role toward that end. In this spirit, the Government of Türkiye would welcome concrete and visible steps by Israel in support of Palestinian rights and statehood, which Türkiye regards as a meaningful measure of good faith and as conducive to a stronger and more durable bilateral relationship. Should your government wish to pursue a preliminary technical dialogue limited to the matters raised in its communication, I have instructed that our Ambassador Alona Tal, and the Office of the Defense and Military Attaché of the Republic of Türkiye, represented by Maj. Özlem Yılmaz, are available to receive Israeli counterparts in Tel Aviv for an initial exchange of views. In the same interest, should your government be eager to make a serious effort to support Palestinian statehood, I would be prepared to visit Tel Aviv soon to support you in making the courageous leap to become the first Israeli Prime Minister to create a new regional order with Israel at the heart of that strategy. Regards, Ayşe Çiller Prime Minister Republic of Türkiye

 

[Zak]

STATE OF ISRAEL​

Dear Prime Minister Ayşe Çiller,

Israel welcomes Türkiye's willingness to explore practical avenues of cooperation in the common struggle against terrorism and violent extremism. The PKK has inflicted significant suffering and loss of innocent life. Israel has always maintained that terrorism, regardless of its source or target, cannot be justified. Nations have both the right and the obligation to defend their citizens from terrorist violence, and we welcome the opportunity to examine, through appropriate professional channels, areas where our respective security establishments can exchange expertise and strengthen regional stability.

Accordingly, over the coming days, I will order the relevant Israeli authorities to establish contact with Ambassador Alona Tal and Major Özlem Yılmaz to begin a preliminary technical dialogue focused on the counterterrorism matters identified in your letter through the appropriate back channels.

As for the Palestinian question, let me state Israel's position. My Government will not recognize or support the establishment of a Palestinian state at this time. The events in previous years have reinforced a lesson that Israelis have learned through painful experience: territorial concessions made without ironclad security guarantees can become launching grounds for terrorism directed at our civilians.

Israel will not repeat mistakes that endanger the lives of its citizens in pursuit of diplomatic applause. No responsible Israeli government can be expected to create another entity on its borders while terrorist organizations continue to operate, while incitement against Israel persists, and while large segments of Palestinian political leadership remain unwilling or unable to recognize the Jewish State's permanent and legitimate place in the Middle East.

Security is not one consideration among many, it is the prerequisite for every other consideration. Without security, there can be no prosperity, no diplomacy, and no lasting peace. Accordingly, Israel's foremost obligation is to ensure that no future arrangement places another generation of Israelis under the threat of rockets, cross-border attacks, or terrorism.

This should not be mistaken for a rejection of peace. Israel does not permanently foreclose any political outcome, including future discussions regarding Palestinian statehood, provided that the strategic realities of the region are fundamentally transformed. Such a future would require the complete dismantling of terrorist infrastructure, the permanent renunciation of violence, accountable governance committed to coexistence rather than confrontation, and security arrangements that leave no doubt about Israel's ability to defend itself by itself.

Until those conditions are demonstrably met, not merely promised, Israel will continue to pursue peace through strength, regional cooperation through shared interests, and stability through deterrence. The security of the Israeli people is not negotiable; it is the foundation upon which every future diplomatic initiative must rest.

Kind Regards,
Naftali Bennett
Prime Minister of Israel
State of Israel

This email and any accompanying documents are intended exclusively for the designated recipient(s) and may contain information that is confidential, proprietary, or legally privileged. If you are not the intended recipient, please inform the sender immediately and permanently delete this message from your system. Any unauthorized access, reproduction, distribution, or use of this communication is strictly prohibited.

Please be advised that all correspondence originating from the State of Israel is transmitted using state-sanctioned encryption protocols. While every effort has been made to ensure this message and its attachments are free from harmful content, the sender cannot accept liability for any potential damage or data loss resulting from their use.

Jay

 

[Jay]

Dışişleri Bakanlığı Ministry of Foreign Affairs​

AUTHENTIC COMMUNIQUE OF THE OFFICE OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS Security Clearance: Secure and Encrypted ŞİFRELEME KORUMASI: KAPLUĞA​

[Recipient]: Office of the Prime Minister, Israel < Zak > [Sender]: Office of the Prime Minister, Türkiye < BaşbakanlıkOfisi@tr.gov > [Subject]: Confidential // Diplomatic Ties & Counter-Terrorism Cooperation.

Dear Prime Minister Bennett, I have received your response, and I confess I read it twice to be certain I had understood your government's position correctly. When I read news of your decision to withdraw from the Oslo Agreement, I was very disappointed. You write of "territorial concessions" and "diplomatic applause" as though Türkiye had asked you to abandon your citizens to rocket fire. We asked nothing of the sort. We asked for a demonstration and a path, however modest, that the government of Israel has not permanently closed the door on the only arrangement that has ever offered your country something security alone cannot, legitimacy in the eyes of this region, and an end to the condition in which every year of quiet is merely the interval between wars. You say security is the prerequisite for everything else. I do not dispute this. But I would ask you, in turn, to consider what forty years of a purely military answer to a fundamentally political question have actually purchased for Israel. Not peace. Not the disappearance of Palestinian nationalism. Not the goodwill of a single one of your neighbors beyond those who signed papers under American pressure. Only a deeper entrenchment, on both sides, of the belief that the other understands no language but force. My Government does not lecture Israel on how to defend its citizens. We have buried too many of our own to terrorism to be careless with such words. That is precisely why I extended my hand on the PKK in good faith, and why I proposed a visit to Tel Aviv that would have been, had you permitted it, the first by a Turkish premier in over a decade, undertaken specifically to help your government make the case at home for a settlement that guarantees your security guarantees, not merely promises them. You have declined that path. You have chosen instead to describe as mistakes the very policies of cautious opening that kept this region calmer than it had been in a decade, and to reaffirm, in language that leaves no room for my government to interpret it charitably, that no Palestinian state will be recognized at this time, conditioned on standards you have expressed in the past both in public and repeatedly, you intend never to consider met. A relationship cannot be built exclusively on the security establishment's professional regard for itself while the political leadership of one party treats the core grievance of the other as a subject closed to discussion. With your decision to withdraw from the Oslo Agreement, I have instructed Ambassador Tal and Major Yılmaz not to proceed with the technical dialogue we discussed. The PKK will remain Türkiye's fight, and we will win it by our own means, as we always have. I regret only that Israel chose not to be part of that effort, and the longer Israel remains in denial about how to resolve its inherent problems that door for our relationship will remain closed. My offer for a serious regional realignment has not expired. When your government is prepared to treat Palestinian statehood seriously, to be a partner for peace, and to cast aside this lust for violence, you will find the door in Ankara eager and happy to engage. Until such a time, I believe our correspondence should be handled by our Foreign Ministers until our relationship is more mature. Regards, Ayşe Çiller Prime Minister Republic of Türkiye

 

[Zak]

STATE OF ISRAEL​

Dear Prime Minister Ayşe Çiller,

I have read your email carefully. I understand your disappointment, but I reject the premise of your argument.

Israel’s decision regarding the Oslo framework is a sovereign decision based on our assessment of our national interests and, above all, the security of our citizens. No government should be compelled by external pressure to accept diplomatic arrangements or recognize political entities contrary to its own judgment. If sovereignty is a principle, it must apply equally to Israel.

Israel has not abandoned the possibility of peace. We have rejected the assumption that political agreements alone can produce security. Years of terrorism, rocket attacks, armed organizations, and repeated violations have demonstrated that security guarantees must be credible and enforceable—not simply promises.

You speak of Palestinian statehood as though Israel’s position represents a permanent rejection of diplomacy. It does not. Any lasting settlement must be negotiated freely by the parties, address Israel’s legitimate security concerns, and provide genuine reciprocity. External governments cannot impose a predetermined outcome and call it peace.

I also reject your characterization of Israel’s position as a “lust for violence.” Israel does not seek perpetual conflict. We seek peace and stability, but we will not achieve either by placing our citizens at unnecessary risk.

Türkiye’s own experience with terrorism should make this principle clear: governments have a duty to confront threats to their people, even when doing so is politically difficult.

The international community should encourage dialogue, discourage violence, and apply its principles consistently. It should not attempt to compel Israel into decisions that its government believes could endanger its citizens.

The door to diplomacy remains open. But Israel will negotiate from a position of responsibility, not coercion. Any future agreement must provide genuine security, reciprocity, and a credible basis for lasting peace.

Until those conditions exist, Israel will continue to defend its citizens and exercise its sovereign right to determine its own diplomatic and security policy.

Kind Regards,
Naftali Bennett
Prime Minister of Israel
State of Israel

This email and any accompanying documents are intended exclusively for the designated recipient(s) and may contain information that is confidential, proprietary, or legally privileged. If you are not the intended recipient, please inform the sender immediately and permanently delete this message from your system. Any unauthorized access, reproduction, distribution, or use of this communication is strictly prohibited.

Please be advised that all correspondence originating from the State of Israel is transmitted using state-sanctioned encryption protocols. While every effort has been made to ensure this message and its attachments are free from harmful content, the sender cannot accept liability for any potential damage or data loss resulting from their use.

Jay