The fate of Turkish Kurds has been underlined by continuous strife and suppression dating back to th...

1. PKK and Israel-Turkey Alliance in 1990s
The fate of Turkish Kurds has been underlined by continuous strife and suppression dating back to
the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne that made no provisions for the millions of Kurds that heavily populated
southeastern Turkey (Gunter, 199). For the next eighty years, the unwillingness of Turkey's
zealously nationalist military elite to grant Kurds recognition was reciprocated by an equally
uncompromising Kurdish resistance. The conflict proved pivotal in the development of close Turkish-
Israeli relations in the closing decades of the 20th century.
Rise of the PKK
PKK, short for Partiya Karkern Kurdistan or Kurdistan Workers' Party, was founded in November of
1978 in a small village located in eastern Turkey. Despite the increasing cultural awareness and
demands for cultural recognition among Turkish Kurds who represent 18% of the country's
population (Thomas), a revised Turkish constitution in 1982 contained provisions that sought to limit
even the speaking and writing of the Kurdish language (Gunter, 200). The continuation of Turkeys
uncompromising attitude towards its Kurdish population helped radicalize large segments of Turkish
Kurds, thus allowing the PKK to quietly grow in numbers in its early years

2. Keeping a low profile throughout the late
1970s and early 1980s, the PKK began
launching insurgency-style attacks against
the Turkish government in 1984 while
demanding political separation for Turkeys
Kurdish populated southeastern region. Thus
for the first time in its history Turkey faced an
enemy which directly and viably threatened
the countrys territorial integrity. According to Sabri Sayari, The challenge posed by the PKK to
Turkey's political order and territorial integrity has become the single most important item on the
country's domestic and foreign policy agendas (Sayari, 47).
Between 1984 and 2000, the struggle between the Turkish government and the PKK resulted in
more than thirty-seven thousand deaths, the partial or complete destruction of as many as three
thousand villages, and the internal displacement of some three million people (Gunter, 200). During
the same time period Turkish-Israeli relationship reached its apex.
Israel as Turkey's Ally Against the PKK
Turkey and Israel signed several military agreements between 1992 and 1999. During this time
period Turkey's campaign against the Kurdish insurgency was at its peak, with the Turkish military
publically stating that they considered the PKK to be the most significant threat to Turkish security
(Murrinson, 102). Greatly contributing to Turkeys increased reliance on Israel was the fact that
Turkey was denied access to Western weapons due to concerns regarding their use against the
countrys Kurdish population (Murinson, 106).
Such circumstances turned Israel into Turkeys only reliable ally in its campaign against the PKK, as
the Jewish state, determined to maintain close ties with its sole Muslim ally in the region, had less
reservations about Turkeys transgressions against the Kurds and readily sold it weapons (Larabee,
110). Conversely, it significantly contibuted to Turkeys increasing tensions with Iran and Syria, both
of which allegedly supported the PKKs campaign against Turkey.
Turkey was particularly wary of Syrias close affiliation with the PKK, with Sayari arguing that The
PKK threat has exacted a heavy toll on Syrian-Turkish relations, which had been strained for most of
the Cold War periodAnkara views Damascus as the PKK's principal source of external logistical
support and training (47).
Turkey's tensions with Syria conformed to Israel's own stance towards the Arab state, which by the
end of the Cold War emerged as the Jewish state's chief Arab adversary. Thus by being a sponsor of
the PKK, Syria provided an imperative raison d'tre for the Israeli-Turkish alliance in the 1990s.

3. Israel's Gains from the Turkey-PKK Conflict
A major military agreement, dubbed Defense Industry
Cooperation, was signed between Turkey and Israel in
1996. Among other things, it included large scale
military sales and coproduction of military equipment,
including configuration of Turkish jet fighters with
sophisticated Israeli technology. Most notably it
allowed Israel to station fighter planes at Turkish
airbases close to Syrian, Iraqi, and Iranian borders
(Murinson, 47), thus providing Israel with a strategic
edge over its regional rivals.
Kurdish plight and insurgency in Turkey proved
beneficial for Israel, as it isolated Turkey both from its
NATO allies and exacerbated tensions with its regional
neighbors, thus increasing its dependance on the Jewish state. Turkeys isolation and reliance on
Israel in the 1990s ideally conformed to the latter's periphery doctrine, which emphasized close
relations with the region's non-Arab states. While Israel never wanted PKK to overwhelm Turkey, it
also didn't want to see Turkey's Kurdish issue resolved, since this would have reduced its
dependence on Israel, thus increasing the latter's isolation in the region.
SourcesGunter, M. (2004, Spring). The Kurdish Question in Perspective. World Affairs, 166(4), 197-
205.Larrabee, S. (2007, July-August). Turkey Rediscovers the Middle East. Foreign Affairs, 86(4),
103-114.Murinson, Al. (2010). Turkeys Entente with Israel and Azerbaijan: State Identity and
Security in the Middle East and Caucasus. Routledge: New York.Sayari, S (1997, Spring). Turkey
and the Middle East in the 1990s. Journal of Palestine Studies, 26(3), 44-55.Thomas, L. (2011, April
21). Kurds Renew Their Movement for Rights and Respect in Turkey. The New York Times.