Conflict of civilizations

These readers are accusing the Turkish media of forgetting that Hamas was no different than the separatist Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, terrorist group and stressing that Israel has the legitimate right to undertake measures aimed at stopping continued Hamas shelling at Israeli settlements. Israel cannot be denied of the right to defend itself and its citizens, these letters underline. Indeed, these letters were not saying much different than the official Israeli statements trying to provide legitimacy to the inhumane and indiscriminate attacks on Gaza which definitely cannot be explained with a "act of self defense" explanation.

Gaza Strip is an enclave. Palestinian civilians have no place to go. Israel is attacking with sophisticated warfare and there are claims that it is using weapons banned by international conventions as well. The United States is blocking the U.N. Security Council from adopting a ceasefire resolution, and thus have become an accomplice of Israel in the crime against humanity being committed in Gaza. Israel is not after peace and co-habitation of the Israeli and the Palestinian state side by side, but rather to consolidate Jewish aspirations by shedding Palestinian blood, to devastate the legitimate right of resistance of the Palestinian people; by confining Palestinians to ghettos and making them accept to live under Israeli mercy.

Hamas is a terrorist organization, but Israel must understand that its gross violation of human rights and the American obstructions against a ceasefire resolution at the Security Council are providing legitimacy to Hamas not only in Gaza, but across the Muslim world and deepening prospects of a conflict of civilizations. Whereas, an honest peace between Israel and Palestinians could be an asset for global peace.

Turkey’s failure
As we reported in this column back on Dec. 30, the Israeli air and land operation on Gaza Strip should not have been a surprise, at least for the Turkish government, because at the beginning of December, Israel contacted Ankara and urged its good offices to convince Hamas to extend the ceasefire. Turkish officials did not believe that while the Israeli blockade of Gaza continued Hamas would not agree to extend the truce and thus Ankara balked undertaking such a role at the time.

Secondly, a week before Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s working visit to Ankara on Jan. 15 and 16, Azzam Najeeb Al-Ahmad, a special envoy of President Mahmoud Abbas, came to Turkey. The Palestinian special envoy met with Ahmet Davutoğlu, the foreign policy adviser of Erdoğan and conveyed a message of Abbas to President Gül.

The message was requesting Turkey first to convince Hamas extend the truce and prevent Israel using Hamas refusal to extend the ceasefire as a pretext to reoccupy Gaza Strip; second, to continue contributing to the reconciliation efforts between the Palestinian authority and the Hamas ruling Gaza; and third, to continue playing its facilitating role in peace efforts between Israel and Syria, as well as between Israel and Egypt. That is what Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has been trying to achieve nowadays with his shuttle diplomacy between capitals of the region was what he was asked to do by Abbas several weeks ago, but at the time Ankara gave a cold shoulder to the request saying such a mission would not succeed under the conditions of the day.

If a country claims that it is a regional power; if it has a neo-Ottomanist foreign policy which is based on the assumption that it is in its interest to be concerned of whatever happens on the former Ottoman territory, and if it believes that because of its historical heritage it can be the best arbitrator, mediator or trouble shooter in ending conflicts in the vast former Ottoman territories, that country must have acted with the awareness that actions speak louder than words and accordingly undertake its responsibilities as a regional power. Shuttling between capitals after the egg was broken may serve some long term objectives, but cannot be an answer today to the massive sufferings of the people of Gaza Strip under Israeli attacks.