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TEL AVIV, Israel, June 7 (UPI) -- The appointment of a new head of Turkey's powerful intelligence service is causing concern in Israel because he's a close confidant of Islamist Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan who's seen these days as one of Israel's main adversaries. Hakan Fidan was named chief of the Milli Istihbarat Teskilati, Turkey's National Intelligence Organization, known as MIT, 10 days ago.
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That was three days before the Israeli navy stormed the Mavi Maramara, Turkish flagship of a flotilla carrying 10,000 tons of humanitarian aid to the blockaded Gaza Strip, and killed nine pro-Palestinian activists, all Turks.
The Israelis said they acted in self-defense.
That clash in international waters in the eastern Mediterranean triggered a global outcry against Israel, whose once close relations with Turkey have been deteriorating since Israeli forces invaded Gaza in December 2008 and killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in 22 days of fighting.
Erdogan, whose Islamist party took power in 2005, was incensed and has conducted a strident diplomatic campaign against Israel.
The aid flotilla was organized by a Turkish non-governmental group, the Foundation for Human Rights and Freedoms and Humanitarian Relief, or IHH, that the Israelis and Americans say has links to Islamic radicals.
It's not clear whether it has any links to Erdogan's government or MIT. But Israeli security officials "believe last week's Mavi Marmara incident reflects an intentional change in relations between Israel and Turkey," analyst Amir Oren wrote in the liberal daily Haaretz Monday.
Many Israelis believe the violence in the Mediterranean was a trap set by the Turks into which the Israeli navy stumbled.
"There is no concrete information, however, regarding Fidan's involvement in the incident or his ties with IHH, the group that organized the flotilla," Oren wrote.
But he stressed that in Israel, "there is concern that Fidan's appointment will have a two-pronged effect: On the one hand, the exchange of intelligence between the two countries will be harmed and on the other hand, that Israel will have to limit the transfer of information to Turkey out of a concern that it may be passed on to enemy organizations or states."
Erdogan's anti-Israel campaign is seen as a critical element in his drive to restore Turkey as a regional power after nearly a century of quiescence since the Ottoman Empire was broken up after World War I.
Taking on Israel has burnished Erdogan's reputation as a Muslim leader among Arabs and eclipsed the Arab leaders who have failed to stand up to the U.S.-backed Jewish state for more than two decades.
Fidan's appointment indicates that Ankara continues to move closer to Iran, its eastern neighbor. For the last year, Fidan was deputy director of the Erdogan's office and played a central role in consolidating Turkish ties with Iran.
His promotion will also impact on Turkey's relations with the United States, its NATO ally, which is also concerned about Erdogan's strategic shift toward Iran and the Muslim world.
Fidan, 42, has been a close adviser to Erdogan and his foreign minister, Ahmet Davutoglu, considered the architect of Erdogan's expansionist policy, for several years.
Fidan is viewed with deep suspicion by the Israel for another reason. He formulated the uranium transfer deal between Turkey, Brazil and Iran proposed in May.
That is a bold foreign policy initiative by Erdogan that Israel, and the United States, suspect may provide a loophole for Tehran to head off a fourth round of U.N. sanctions over its contentious nuclear program.
In 2009, Fidan represented Ankara at the International Atomic Energy Agency, where he defended Iran's right to pursue a nuclear program for "peaceful purposes."
As head of MIT, he replaces Emre Taner, who retired in April after five years heading the service. Fidan moved in as acting head but didn't formally take over until May 28.
Fidan's takeover at MIT underlines the extent to which Erdogan has been able to establish his mastery over Turkey's military, which for decades has dominated politics as the self-appointed guardians of the secular republic founded by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk in 1921.
Turkey's generals have ousted four governments since 1960, including one headed by Erdogan's predecessor as the leader of the country's Islamists.
Although MIT, which oversees internal security and foreign intelligence operations, is a civilian organization, it has long had close links with the military and reports directly to the prime minister.
