Israel's Lieberman 'plans to punish Turkey'

Israel's foreign ministry has prepared a series of "harsh measures" to "punish" Turkey's leadership for diplomatic slights, Israeli media reported Friday. Israel will facilitate cooperation with the Armenians, Turkey's historic rivals, and may even lobby for international recognition of the Armenian holocaust, the Hebrew-language daily Yedioth Ahronoth reported. Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman is also planning to meet with Kurdish rebels in Europe in order to “cooperate with them and boost them in every possible area,” Yedioth's English website said. Another means in Lieberman’s “toolbox,” according to the news site, Ynet, is a diplomatic campaign where Israeli missions worldwide will be instructed to report "illegal" Turkish moves against minorities. "We’ll exact a price from Erdogan that will prove to him that messing with Israel doesn’t pay off," Lieberman was quoted as saying. "Turkey better treat us with respect and common decency." Relations between Turkey and Israel, tense since a deadly commando raid against a Gaza-bound aid flotilla in May, have soured even further following the release of a UN report criticizing both countries. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, meanwhile, vowed to accompany any future aid flotillas to Gaza with naval warships, Al Jazeera television quoted him as saying Thursday.