PM Erdogan says his ships will escort any Turkish aid vessels headed to Gaza, meanwhile, Ankara-Cairo ties to get commercial boost in form of military, trade contracts and naval maneuvers
Turkish warships will escort any Turkish aid vessels to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in an interview with Al-Jazeera television on Thursday.
Erdogan also said that Turkey had taken steps to "stop Israel from unilaterally exploiting natural resources from the eastern Mediterranean."
Earlier Thursday, a military source told an Egyptian website that Turkey is expected to hold naval military maneuvers with Egypt in Turkey's territorial waters at the end of the year.
Erdogan will visit Egypt next week as part of a regional tour and is expected to sign several trade and military agreements with Egypt.
Turkey is a prominent member in NATO and "Egypt is determined to hold the maneuvers in spite of its current political climate," the source told the website.
While in Egypt, Erdogan will meet with Egyptian Prime Minister Essam Sharaf, Defense Minister Mohammed Hussein Tantawi and other top officials.
According to Egyptian media, a mission of high-ranking Turkish officials will accompany Erdogan, including Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu, Ankara's trade minister and several prominent businessmen.
Eye in the sky
Meanwhile, a senior Israeli military official told the Associated Press that the IDF has deployed drones over the Israel-Egypt border.
According to AP's source, the IAF deployed a special unit of unmanned surveillance aircraft along Israel's long border with Egypt as a terror-prevention measure, after terrorists infiltrated the border and killed eight Israelis in August.
Israel has grown increasingly concerned about the security situation in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula following the ouster of longtime Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in February.
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