Israel says barred by Turkey from air exercise

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel said on Sunday that Turkey had excluded it from an air exercise over Turkish territory, leading to the drill's cancellation, in a move an Israeli official described as a blow to NATO and U.S. interests.

Israel's military said in a statement the joint exercise, scheduled to begin on Monday in NATO-member Turkey, takes place every few years but was postponed indefinitely after Ankara removed Israel from the list of participants.

Turkish officials had no immediate comment.

Turkey, a secular Muslim country, has been a key ally to Israel, but relations have cooled over Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's outspoken criticism of Israel's three-week offensive in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip in December and January.

Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon said Israel preferred the United States and other NATO members approach Turkey over the exclusion decision because Ankara's step was also "a blow to NATO, European and American interests."

But Ayalon played down the effects Turkey's decision would have on political relations between the two U.S. allies.

"Turkey has been and remains an important strategic anchor in the Middle East, and certainly its relations with Israel is something that serves the entire region," Ayalon told Israel Radio.

An Israeli political source said Turkey had rejected Israeli participation and postponed the drill indefinitely after other nations, including the United States and Italy, refused to take part without Israel's air force.

The exercise, called Anatolian Eagle, is aimed at improving international aerial cooperation, the Israeli military said.

Turkey and Israel have enjoyed close military cooperation, including Israeli air force training in Turkish air space. The two countries also share intelligence and have strong trade ties, including the sale of important military equipment.

Relations were strained after Erdogan criticized Israel over the Gaza campaign and walked out on Israeli President Shimon Peres at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland in January.

A U.N. report last month found that both the Israeli armed forces and Hamas militants committed war crimes in the Gaza conflict, but it was more critical of Israel.

A Palestinian rights group says 1,417 Palestinians, including 926 civilians, were killed in the war. Israel has said 709 Palestinian combatants were killed along with 295 civilians and 162 people whose status it was unable to clarify.

Ten Israeli soldiers and three civilians were killed during the conflict which Israel launched with the declared aim of ending cross-border rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip.

(Writing by Ari Rabinovitch; editing by Michael Roddy)