Turkey has refused to allow Israeli military planes to use its airspace over the past month – another sign of the increasing tensions between the two countries.

Israel made two requests in the past month, but both, normally a routine matter for approval, were turned down. A Turkish diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the AFP news agency that this does not mean that future requests would be rejected, and that they would be evaluated “one by one.”

The first rebuffed request was for a flight carrying 100 IDF army officers to visit a Nazi death camp in Poland, very soon after the May 31 flotilla incident. No details were provided regarding the second rejected Israeli request.

Civilian flights remain unaffected for now, as they are what the diplomat called an "international obligation.”

Turkey’s relationship with Israel, traditionally a positive one, has been in decline over the past two years, and took a sharp plunge following the flotilla incident, organized by the Turkish terrorist-affiliated IHH group. The Turks withdrew their ambassador to Israel and stated that he would not return unless Israel apologizes for the raid, returns the seized ships, agrees to an international investigation into the raid and compensates the families of the victims.

In fact, however, the Israel Navy warned the flotilla that the Gaza region is closed to maritime traffic. In addition, during a search aboard the Mavi Marmara ship, IDF forces uncovered a cache of weapons used to violently attack the soldiers. Flotilla leaders had stated before they set out that violence was  premeditated. Click here to read other articles on this issue.