Turkey banned Israel from participating in an annual NATO exercise on Turkish soil.

After claiming it was cancelled on a technical issue, they later admitted that barring the Israeli air force was in protest against Israel's policies towards the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

Has the war on Gaza permanently damaged Turkish-Israeli relations? Is Turkey shifting its stance from a neutral player in the Middle East conflict? And can Israel afford to keep offending its biggest ally in the region?

Inside Story discusses with guests Mustafa Akyol, the deputy editor of Turkish Daily newspaper, Oded Eran, the director of the institute for National Security Studies and the former ambassador to the European Union, and Steve Clemons, a senior fellow and director of the American Strategy Program at the New America Foundation.

This episode of Inside Story aired from Tuesday, October 13, 2009.