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Turkish-Israeli ties take a further battering
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Prime Minister Erdoğan’s angry response to Israel for its brutal operation in Gazza has again attracted international attention, especially in the Arab world. Erdoğan is noted for previously accusing Israel of "state terrorism" following such military operations. He has not gone as far as the late Prime Minister Ecevit in using the "genocide" trump. But one can believe that his basic sentiment is not too far from this.
The explanation given for ErdoÄŸan’s anger is that he feels he was tricked by Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert who was in Turkey just before the operation began. The ErdoÄŸan camp indicates that the Israeli prime minister gave no indication whatsoever that such an operation was about to be launched, allegedly assuring his host that "there would be no humanitarian tragedy in Gazza."Â
Whatever Olmert’s words were, the Turkish side reportedly took this as meaning that the Israeli blockade of Gazza would somehow be eased to meet the urgent needs of its inhabitants. It was not taken as meaning, "we will be embarking on a massive operation soon, but will assure minimum casualties."
Erdoğan is said to have also been angered because the Israeli operation has put an abrupt halt to Turkey’s efforts to bring negotiated peace to the region. The most telling example here is the breaking off by Syria from its Turkey sponsored indirect talks with Israel following the attack on Gazza.
Another reason for Erdoğan’s anger is the fact that there are quarters in Turkey who say he knew about the operation Ğ having been told by Olmert - but kept it from the public. Such a suggestion has the potential to be politically devastating for the AKP in a pre-election period.
At any rate it is clearer now that Israel is only nominally interested in any peace track initiated by Turkey or the security of innocent civilians in the Gazza, where a million and a half people are squeezed into one of the world’s most congested areas. The pictures from the region belie any humanitarian assurances coming out of Israel .
The bottom line seems to be what Israel’s supposed dove-turned warlord of a defense minister Ehud Barak said. As far as Israel is concerned "now is the time for war and this is total war against Hamas" (which given the images from Gazza may be read as "the Palestinians").
Given the overall situation, it is not difficult to understand why Erdoğan feels he was hoodwinked by the Israelis, for whom he obviously has little love anyway, even if he has to maintain these ties for the sake of "raison d’etat."
Erdoğan’s one-sided accusations against Israel, without any reference to the Hamas rockets fired on Israeli settlements, was also noted in the West and the Middle East as suggesting that he is taking sides in this dispute Ğ which again would be his natural inclination given his Islamist background.
This position was of course applauded on the street level across the Middle East. Many ordinary Arabs read about this in their papers and castigated their own leaders for their confused and divided positions. They accused these leaders of displaying cowardly behavior yet again in the face of what Israel has been visiting on the Palestinians for decades now, while the Turkish Prime Minister was being brave.
ErdoÄŸan also attracted a lot of public support in Turkey, where anti-Israeli sentiments always float near the surface anyway, a fact that which ties in with the very prevalent anti-Americanism among Turks.He was nevertheless criticized by Turks who realize that the reality of the Middle East that Turkey has to cope with is not on the street level, but with Israel and the various administrations in the region. It was said in this context that it was wrong of ErdoÄŸan to appear to be putting Turkey on the side of Hamas, when so many Arab administrations in the region are not doing this.
The basic suggestion, also supported by us, was that even if Erdogan’s sentiments were understandable, he should have been more statesmanlike in his approach to an issue that has a complex background. Whatever the case may be, such operations by Israel will make it increasingly difficult for Turkey to maintain normal ties with this country. Given the course of developments in Gazza one can even predict the possibility of a reduction in the level of diplomatic ties if the Israelis engage in further massacres Ğ retaliatory or not - or are seen to be making Palestinians lives even more of a hell than they already have.
It is highly apparent that ties between the two countries do not have the warmth of the "pre-AKP era" anyway. There is much speculation as to what Israeli is trying to do here, but the fact is that when it embarks on such operations it is clear it too has little concern for what damage these might do to its ties with Turkey.
Cleary the Israeli side relies cynically on the cooperation between the two militaries, which still seem strong, to prevent any break in ties. How long the Turkish military can maintain this support in the face of an increasing public outcry is not clear however. Already people are complaining about the fact that the Turkish General Staff has allowed the Israeli air force to use Turkish airspace to practice low level attack tactics. The images out of Gazza, they argue, are the results of this.
While it may be alone in a dangerous region, it is also apparent that losing the few friends it has in this part of the world is not of great concern for the Israeli government, as long as it has the United States on its side and can utilize the growing Islamophobia in Europe to its advantage. But it is hard to understand what security value Israel will get out of providing the world with images reminiscent of 65 years ago, where the killing of one German could invite merciless and massive retribution on whole communities, a fact that is castigated in European history books today as "inhuman."
It is sad that Israel Ğ a nation that has suffered so much injustice in the past - should have come to this. But it is worth asking again whether Israel will get the peace and comfort it desires from all this? All we have to do here is look at the past and the answer is there. If Israeli’s want to live in peace they have to understand that their enemies in this case are prepared to die, in large numbers if necessary, to ensure that this will never happen. When looked back on, therefore, this operation against Gazza will most likely appear to be just another brutal episode in what is a never-ending cycle of violence in the Middle East.
In the end it is not just a question of Hamas accepting Israel’s right to exist Ğ which it of course must. It is also a question of Israelis accepting both psychologically and politically the basic right of Palestinians as a nation to exist in their secure borders through a negotiated settlement.
Whatever Olmert’s words were, the Turkish side reportedly took this as meaning that the Israeli blockade of Gazza would somehow be eased to meet the urgent needs of its inhabitants. It was not taken as meaning, "we will be embarking on a massive operation soon, but will assure minimum casualties."
Erdoğan is said to have also been angered because the Israeli operation has put an abrupt halt to Turkey’s efforts to bring negotiated peace to the region. The most telling example here is the breaking off by Syria from its Turkey sponsored indirect talks with Israel following the attack on Gazza.
Another reason for Erdoğan’s anger is the fact that there are quarters in Turkey who say he knew about the operation Ğ having been told by Olmert - but kept it from the public. Such a suggestion has the potential to be politically devastating for the AKP in a pre-election period.
At any rate it is clearer now that Israel is only nominally interested in any peace track initiated by Turkey or the security of innocent civilians in the Gazza, where a million and a half people are squeezed into one of the world’s most congested areas. The pictures from the region belie any humanitarian assurances coming out of Israel .
The bottom line seems to be what Israel’s supposed dove-turned warlord of a defense minister Ehud Barak said. As far as Israel is concerned "now is the time for war and this is total war against Hamas" (which given the images from Gazza may be read as "the Palestinians").
Given the overall situation, it is not difficult to understand why Erdoğan feels he was hoodwinked by the Israelis, for whom he obviously has little love anyway, even if he has to maintain these ties for the sake of "raison d’etat."
Erdoğan’s one-sided accusations against Israel, without any reference to the Hamas rockets fired on Israeli settlements, was also noted in the West and the Middle East as suggesting that he is taking sides in this dispute Ğ which again would be his natural inclination given his Islamist background.
This position was of course applauded on the street level across the Middle East. Many ordinary Arabs read about this in their papers and castigated their own leaders for their confused and divided positions. They accused these leaders of displaying cowardly behavior yet again in the face of what Israel has been visiting on the Palestinians for decades now, while the Turkish Prime Minister was being brave.
ErdoÄŸan also attracted a lot of public support in Turkey, where anti-Israeli sentiments always float near the surface anyway, a fact that which ties in with the very prevalent anti-Americanism among Turks.He was nevertheless criticized by Turks who realize that the reality of the Middle East that Turkey has to cope with is not on the street level, but with Israel and the various administrations in the region. It was said in this context that it was wrong of ErdoÄŸan to appear to be putting Turkey on the side of Hamas, when so many Arab administrations in the region are not doing this.
The basic suggestion, also supported by us, was that even if Erdogan’s sentiments were understandable, he should have been more statesmanlike in his approach to an issue that has a complex background. Whatever the case may be, such operations by Israel will make it increasingly difficult for Turkey to maintain normal ties with this country. Given the course of developments in Gazza one can even predict the possibility of a reduction in the level of diplomatic ties if the Israelis engage in further massacres Ğ retaliatory or not - or are seen to be making Palestinians lives even more of a hell than they already have.
It is highly apparent that ties between the two countries do not have the warmth of the "pre-AKP era" anyway. There is much speculation as to what Israeli is trying to do here, but the fact is that when it embarks on such operations it is clear it too has little concern for what damage these might do to its ties with Turkey.
Cleary the Israeli side relies cynically on the cooperation between the two militaries, which still seem strong, to prevent any break in ties. How long the Turkish military can maintain this support in the face of an increasing public outcry is not clear however. Already people are complaining about the fact that the Turkish General Staff has allowed the Israeli air force to use Turkish airspace to practice low level attack tactics. The images out of Gazza, they argue, are the results of this.
While it may be alone in a dangerous region, it is also apparent that losing the few friends it has in this part of the world is not of great concern for the Israeli government, as long as it has the United States on its side and can utilize the growing Islamophobia in Europe to its advantage. But it is hard to understand what security value Israel will get out of providing the world with images reminiscent of 65 years ago, where the killing of one German could invite merciless and massive retribution on whole communities, a fact that is castigated in European history books today as "inhuman."
It is sad that Israel Ğ a nation that has suffered so much injustice in the past - should have come to this. But it is worth asking again whether Israel will get the peace and comfort it desires from all this? All we have to do here is look at the past and the answer is there. If Israeli’s want to live in peace they have to understand that their enemies in this case are prepared to die, in large numbers if necessary, to ensure that this will never happen. When looked back on, therefore, this operation against Gazza will most likely appear to be just another brutal episode in what is a never-ending cycle of violence in the Middle East.
In the end it is not just a question of Hamas accepting Israel’s right to exist Ğ which it of course must. It is also a question of Israelis accepting both psychologically and politically the basic right of Palestinians as a nation to exist in their secure borders through a negotiated settlement.
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