already declared support for the Palestinians' right to self-determination. In 2004, Turkey had denounced Israeli assassination of Sheikh Ahmed Yassin. It described Israeli policy in the Gaza Strip as "state-sponsored terrorism". There were demonstrations across Turkey against Israeli actions in Gaza. On 5 March 2009, the Israeli daily newspaper Haaretz reported that "secret reconciliation talks at the highest level" had been held to get the Israeli-Turkish relations back on track. This report was cited in the Turkish press. On 11 October 2009, a military aerial exercise was to consist of Turkey, Israel, the United States, and Italy. However, Turkey barred Israel from the Anatolian Eagle military exercise. In October 2009, following Turkey's banning Israel's participation in the Anatolian Eagle military exercise, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu objected to Turkey as a mediator, stating "Turkey can't be [an] honest broker", between Syria and Israel. Erdoğan harshly criticized Israel's conduct in Gaza at the World Economic Forum conference in Davos, Switzerland in January 2009. After the assembled audience applauded Peres, Erdoğan said: "I find it very sad that people applaud what you said. You killed people. And I think that it is very wrong." The moderator, Washington Post columnist David Ignatius asked Erdoğan to finish, saying that people needed to go to dinner. Erdoğan complained about the fact, that he was given 12 minutes to talk, whereas Peres talked for a duration of 25 minutes. Erdoğan then proceeded to leave the stage. In October 2009, Ayrılık, a prime-time serial on Turkish state television channel TRT 1 featured fictionalized scenes of Israeli soldiers shooting Palestinian children and mistreating elderly Arabs. Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman criticized the program, and rebuked the Turkish Ambassador in front of assembled media. Lieberman subsequently apologized after Turkey threatened to withdraw its ambassador. After Hamas leader Khaled Mashal paid an official visit to Turkey, relations began to cool off. In January 2010, Israel protested when an episode ("Ambush") of the Turkish soap opera Valley of the Wolves depicted Israeli intelligence spying inside Turkey and kidnapping Turkish babies. The series depicted a fictional Mossad attack on the Turkish embassy in Tel Aviv in which the ambassador and his family are taken hostage. On 11 January 2010, Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon met with Turkish ambassador Ahmet Oğuz Çelikkol, who was seated on a stool that was lower than Ayalon's. Ayalon allegedly turned to his aide and quipped, "The