Understanding the Mavi Marmara Crisis in Turkish-Israeli Relations

Israel’s bloody raid on the Mavi Marmara flotilla in May 2010 caused the death of 9 civilians and a great crisis between Turkey and Israel. The impacts of this crisis are still being felt in between the two countries as well as a in the relations with the USA. The raid happened while the flotilla was in the international waters and carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza. Neither the civilians on board, nor the Turkish government expected such a severe outcome. The aim of this paper is to present the details of the Mavi Marmara crisis between Ankara and Tel-Aviv, relying on various stages in the emergence and the aftermath of the crisis. The paper also aims to make a detailed analysis of Alexander George’s defensive crisis management strategy and how this strategy was applied by the Turkish decision makers during the Mavi Marmara crisis.