Turkey and Israel: Bitterness in Ties

Foreign Policy of Turkey-6

-Dr. Abdul Ruff

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Turkey is the important Muslim nation in Europe representing global Islam with the government pursing pro-Islamic polices in a sustained manner trying at the same time not to spoil its ties with European nations. Knowing Turkey's vulnerability as the lone European nation amongst the Christean states, both USA and Israel have exploited Ankara to disadvantage of Islamic world, not just Turkey's . Promoted by Washington, Israel and Turkey built strong military and economic ties over the past 15 years, and Turkey became Israel’s closest ally in the Muslim world. Recent times, Istanbul has taken keen interest in Mideast crisis where defenseless Palestinians are being persecuted on their own lands by the occupying Zionist military terrorists. Israel supplies high precision arms and other terror goods to Turkey to kill its neighbor and those people struggling to cede from Turkey.

Relations between the two soured, however, with Turkey’s Islamic-oriented government’s increasingly vociferous criticism of Israel’s treatment of Palestinians. They hit an all-time low in May, when Israeli naval commandos killed nine activists from Turkey on board a Gaza-bound ship that tried to breach Israel’s naval blockade of Palestine. The campaign was led by an Islamist charity which, critics charge, had the tacit approval of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's Justice and Development Party (AKP), the moderate offshoot of a now-banned Islamist movement.

Speaking on the eve of the return to Istanbul of the raided Turkish ship Mavi Marmara, trying to break the blockade, and as pro-Islamic groups were preparing to welcome the ship in a ceremony, Erdogan said he wants to both preserve relations and “defend our rights”; he also wants Israel to end its blockade on the Gaza Strip. Israel wants Turkey to return its ambassador and remove the raid from the international agenda. Israel and Egypt blockaded Gaza after the militant Islamic Hamas seized control there in 2007.

Israel hates Iran emerging as the strongest nuclear power of the region replacing Israel. Turkey’s recent effort for realignment with Iran has upset not only USA and UK, trying to stop Iranian interference in their resource swindling in occupied Iraq, but Israel as well that has nukes obtained by illegal means and a constant source of threat and irritation in Mideast.

As a pure gimmick, Israel announced an inquiry into the aid ship attack. Turkey dismissed a commission set up by Israel to probe the deadly raid on Gaza-bound aid ships, warning of unspecified measures if a UN-led inquiry was not carried out. Turkey, like the entire world, no trust at all that Israel, a country that has carried out such an attack on a civilian convoy in international waters, will conduct an impartial investigation. Any investigation conducted unilaterally by Israel will have no value for Turkey as well as the  world. To have a defendant acting simultaneously as both prosecutor and judge is not compatible with any principle of law.

The US and the European Union have called on Turkey and Israel to overcome tensions and renew close links to help with peace efforts in the Middle East. High-ranking Israeli and Turkish officials held two-days of talks in the Swiss capital, Geneva, aimed at mending ties after Turkey sent aircraft and firefighters to help Israel battle a wildfire earlier this month.

Turkey is clearly attempting to reset its foreign policy for Israel and non-Islamic world while is seen engaged in more active diplomatic efforts in Mideast. This worries the anti-Islamic world - represented by both USA and Israel. The crisis with Israel, followed by Turkey's "no" vote to fresh sanctions against Iran adopted by the UN Security Council last month, have raised concern that the AKP is abandoning Turkey's traditionally pro-Western orientation, a charge the government rejects.

Withstanding tremendous pressure from them, Turkey’s foreign minister Ahmet Davutoglu said in Istanbul that his country wants improved ties with Israel but for this to happen it must apologize and offer compensation for its deadly raid on a Gaza Strip-bound aid flotilla in May. Turkey withdrew its ambassador from Tel Aviv and Turkish leaders denounced Israel repeatedly over the raid. Turkey has made an Israeli apology and compensation for the victims’ families a condition for improved ties. “We are for peace with all countries. Why should we want bad relations with a country with whom we are trying to broker peace,” Davutoglu said in reference to Turkey’s mediation between Israel and Syria in 2008, a role that won this NATO member international praise.

Israel still hopes both USA and NATO would apply more pressure on Turkey to pursue a pro-Israeli policy as before and criticize Palestinians, but Ankara has stood firm thus on Hamas far to send a cold message to Zionist camp at Tel-Aviv. The proposed NATO shield in Turkey has created some misunderstanding between Turkey and NATO. The U.S. has asked NATO-member Turkey to host some of the radar defenses and to approve the proposal for a Europe-wide defense network. Turkey has hesitated, saying it doesn't want the system explicitly to target its neighbor, Iran. The deal could not be sealed at a two-day NATO summit in Portugal, as speculated.

Iran has serious doubts about the NATO shield's purpose in Turkey and it suspects it's aimed at supporting Israel. Tehran says it has informed Ankara about concerns that Turkey could accept an offer to host some radar defenses under NATO's plan for a missile shield over Europe. Turkey has clearly remarked it would not support the NATO missile shield if it is against Iran or to support Israeli state terrorism. Turkey’s foreign minister Davutoglu said it was essential the shield should cover all of Turkey and that it should not turn Turkey into a frontline state, as during the Cold War, by identifying particular countries as threats. A senior Turkish official confirmed that President Abdullah Gul has sent a letter to NATO terror alliance leaders stating the Turkish position.