One week after the Israeli crime against a Gaza-bound Turkish ship, which left nine people martyred, the Israeli-Turkish relations seem to become worse amid mutual threats.

While Turkey was threatening to re-consider its ties with the Zionist entity, Israel, “provoked” by the Turkish statements, “violated” its decision to calm down.

Thus, a report about the intention of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to travel to Gaza aboard a Turkish navy vessel accompanying a new attempt by protest boats to break Israel’s maritime blockade was enough to drive Israeli officials crazy.

In this context, an Israeli occupation commander said Monday Israel would view an attempt by Erdogan to sail to Gaza as an act of war.

“If he comes here with Turkish warships there can be no doubt that it would amount to a declaration of war,” Major-Genral Uzi Dayan told Army Radio. “We need to draw a clear line and say that whoever crosses it will not be boarded but sunk.”

But another top defense official, Amos Gilad, who heads the defense ministry’s policy unit, urged colleagues to tone down their denouncements of Erdogan rather than exacerbate the crisis with Turkey. “Precisely because there is a crisis, we need to act with judgment and avoid calling a democratically elected leader a terrorist,” Gilad said.

Meanwhile, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said the normalization of Turkish-Israeli relations – severely strained after the deadly raid – would depend upon Tel Aviv’s acceptance of an international inquiry into the event. “If Israel gives the green light to the formation of an international committee and is ready to answer questions of the committee, Turkish-Israeli relations will have a different course. Otherwise, Turkish-Israeli relations cannot be normalized,” Davutoglu told a press conference in Istanbul. “If Israel thinks it has protected its national interests and rights, it should declare that it accepts formation of an international committee. Otherwise, it means that they are hiding some facts,” he added, speaking on the sidelines of a summit of a 20-member Eurasian security group, where Turkey was seeking to condemn Israel.

Israel has rejected the United Nations proposal, which would see a joint investigative committee comprising Washington, Ankara and Tel Aviv. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened his cabinet late Sunday to discuss the offer, but has made it clear that Israel prefers to conduct an internal probe.