On the surface, relations between Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's Justice and Development Party, or AKP, and Netanyahu's Likud party have been extremely tense since the May 2010 Mavi Marmara incident, highlighted by fiery rhetorical statements, the recalling of ambassadors and a freeze on billions of dollars worth of defense deals. During the early stages of the diplomatic break, Turkey found itself attempting to capitalize on the Arab Spring, anticipating that a strong anti-Israel stance would ensure AKP leadership at a time when Islamist political forces in the region were gaining momentum. However, three years later the Islamist parties Turkey courted in Egypt and elsewhere have mostly been sidelined or crushed, and Ankara's overall strategy has largely backfired . Outside the Levant, tensions continue to brew with Baghdad over Erdogan's attempts to strike separate energy deals with the Kurdistan Regional Government , and the prospect of U.S.