JERUSALEM, Sept 21 (Reuters) - The commander of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militant group urged Israel on Tuesday to sever its military ties with Turkey, which he described as a common enemy.
"We demand that Israel stop assisting those seeking to crush our struggle for freedom," Murat Karayilan, deputy to jailed PKK chief Abdullah Ocalan, said in a rare interview with Israeli Channel 2 television from his mountain hideout in northern Iraq.
Relations between Israel and Turkey hit a historic low after nine Turkish activists were killed in May in an Israeli commando raid on a Turkish-backed aid ships en route to the Gaza Strip.
Despite the spat, the two countries still have military and economic ties and Israel has in the past supplied Turkey with military equipment, including unmanned drones that Ankara uses against PKK militants.
"Our problem lies in the military ties between Israel and Turkey. Those ties harm us," Karayilan said. "The most advanced (military) technology that Turkey uses against our guerrilla fighters and Kurdish civilians comes from Israel."
More than 40,000 people, mostly Kurds, have been killed since the PKK took up arms against Turkey in 1984.
"Our enemies are also the enemies of Israel," Karayilan said, referring to Turkey's warmer ties with Iran and Syria, which are Israel's foes.
The PKK has scaled back its demands for an independent homeland and now says it is fighting for greater political and cultural rights for Turkey's estimated 15 million Kurds.
Turkey has officially refused to negotiate for a settlement with the PKK, which it labels a terrorist organisation, as does the United States and European Union. (Writing by Joseph Nasr, Editing by Alison Williams)
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