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JERUSALEM — At first, Turkish Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan had no desire to meet Israeli Foreign Minister David Levy.

As far as the Islamist premier was concerned, why bother with a representative of the country he has often described as "a cancer in the heart of the Arab and Muslim world?"

But he came under pressure from Turkey's secularist army generals, who seek closer ties with the Jewish state, and he grudgingly met with Levy recently in the Turkish capital of Ankara.

"Relations between Israel and Turkey have never been as good," said Turkish journalist Sam Cohen in a telephone interview from his Istanbul office. "And even Erbakan cannot change that."

The April 8 meeting marked the first time that Erbakan met face-to-face with an Israeli leader.

A strong critic of Israel, Erbakan has until now refused to respond to messages sent by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Before the meeting, Erbakan faced strong conflicting pressures within his country.

On the one hand, the army tells him that cooperation with Israel is a top Turkish interest. And the army has the influence to command Erbakan's attention.

At the same time, fundamentalists within his Islamic Welfare Party have been exerting pressure on him to sever ties with Israel.

Barring a drastic escalation of Israeli-Palestinian tensions, Cohen said, Erbakan will not be able to do so because Turkey's strategic interests are at stake.

At first, Erbakan was frosty in his meeting with Levy.

He led Levy to a seat to his right, stared at an imaginary point in the air and began talking about Israel's need to respect Palestinian rights and withdraw from the territories.

He also warned against Israeli plans to "demolish the Al-Aksa Mosque" in Jerusalem, referring to the worst of the Islamic fundamentalists' anti-Israel propaganda.

Levy responded that Israel had preserved the holy sites of all religions. He added that Jerusalem had never been the capital of any people than the Jews.

But the atmosphere slowly warmed, especially after journalists left, said participants.

Ultimately, Erbakan smiled and spoke about the countries' growing economic ties.

But he did not mention the two countries' common interest.

"The two countries have a common enemy: Syria," said Amikam Nahmani of Bar-Ilan University's Begin-Sadat Institute for Strategic Studies.

Turkey regards Syria as an adversary primarily because of Damascus' support for Kurdish rebels seeking self-rule in southeastern Turkey.

Water disputes also have swelled tensions between Ankara and Damascus.

"Turkey was quite unhappy at the time when negotiations between Israel and Syria seemed to be heading toward an agreement," Nahmani said.

"Turkey feared that if the Syrians removed their troops from the Golan Heights, the troops might be deployed along the Turkish border.

"Turkey was equally unhappy about the possibility that as a result of an agreement with Israel, Syria would be struck off" the U.S. State Department list of countries supporting terrorism, he said.

Levy's visit to Turkey underscored one of the more interesting phenomena in today's Middle East.

As the Arab world is united against Israel because of the crisis in the peace process, the strongest Muslim power in the region is seeking enhanced military cooperation with Israel.

Under a defense pact signed last year, Israeli planes have carried out exercises from Turkish military air bases, senior military officials have visited each other's countries and Israel has begun modifying Phantom jet fighters for Turkey.

Economic ties have also prospered: Trade has jumped from $100 million in 1991 to $500 million last year, and it is expected to reach $2 billion by 2000.

In an effort to boost trade with Israel, the Turkish Parliament ratified a free-trade pact with Israel days before Levy met Erbakan.

Three years ago, relations between the two countries were considered a function of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

Now, "the Turks view the relations with Israel as a totally separate sphere,"an Israeli official said.