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TAKING ON TURKEY: ISRAEL'S 'DANGEROUS' GAME IN REGION
Today's Zaman
Sept 15 2011
Turkey
The UN Palmer Report, which largely exonerated Israel for murdering
nine unarmed Turkish civilians in international waters on May 31,
2010, seemed in some ways like the last straw.
Prior to its publication, the camel's back had already mostly broken
and a collapse in Turkish-Israeli ties was looming.
Turkey's sin was seeking an apology for the killing of its citizens --
on their way to deliver essential, life-saving supplies to malnourished
and besieged Palestinians in Gaza -- at the hand of Israeli army
commandos.
If the civilians had been Israelis, and the commandos part of a
Turkish force, all hell would have broken loose. Israel and the US
would have declared Turkey a pariah state. Turkey, however, merely
demanded an apology, and it was affronted further for doing so.
Of course, this is not the first time that Israel deliberately provoked
and tested Turkish patience. Israel has attempted to infiltrate
Turkey's own political spaces by supporting its regional opponents
and arming various rebel groups with the aim of destabilizing Turkey.
Instead of acknowledging the country's rising significance and
accommodating the rules of the "new Middle East" political game, Israel
resorted to intimidation and insults. It repeatedly placed Turkey --
a thriving democracy and a proud regional power of 80 million --
in a very sensitive standing.
However, the anti-Turkish attitude in Israel was not an outcome of
the Mavi Marmara incident last year. "The height of humiliation"
is how an Israeli newspaper described a scene in which Israel's
Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon summoned Turkish Ambassador
Ahmet Oguz last January to humiliate him before Israeli media. Oguz
was reprimanded over a fictional Turkish TV show that was critical of
Israel. To ensure that the point had been successfully made, Ayalon
"urged journalists to make clear that the ambassador was seated on
a low sofa, while the Israeli officials were in much higher chairs,"
according to the BBC (Jan. 13, 2010). Ayalon noted that is "there is
only one flag here" -- the Israeli flag -- and "we are not smiling."
How did Turkey respond? A statement issued by the foreign ministry
"invited" their counterparts in the "Israeli foreign ministry to
respect the rules of diplomatic courtesy." Hardly outrageous. The
gist of the Turkish message that followed the murder of the Turkish
humanitarian activists a few months later was not much different. It
basically asked for an apology.
Turkey was shunned for the seemingly unreasonable demand. An unnamed
senior Israeli official explained the Israeli logic to Ynet news on
Sept. 2, following Turkey's decision to downgrade ties with Israel.
"Turkey is an important country in the Middle East, but an apology is
a very strategic precedent for Israel in this region," he said. That
is true, Israel's diplomacy is predicated on unfair trade, violent
storming of humanitarian boats, subservient activities, espionage and
much more. Indeed, an apology for the murder of Turkish's civilians
would be a precedent.
Even after the recent publishing of Palmer Report -- a contradictory
and obvious attempt at exonerating the Israeli army while implicating
Turkish humanitarian activists -- Turkey acted responsibly. But it
also acted with the poise and dignity that is expected of a democratic
country expressing the wishes of the vast majority of its people. It
downgraded military, trade and other ties with Israel. Why should
Turkey share military intelligence with a country that murders Turks,
humiliates its diplomats and refuses to apologize?
Still, from Israel's point of view, Turkey has crossed all the
limits of acceptable behavior. "Turkish warships will escort any
Turkish aid vessels to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip," said Turkish
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in an interview with Al Jazeera
(as quoted in the Guardian, Sept. 8). At the same time, Turkish
diplomacy continued to offer a window of opportunity to detain further
escalation. "Our embassy in Israel is open, and the Israeli embassy in
Ankara is open. The relations would return to the old days if Israel
apologizes and accepts to pay compensation," said Huseyin Celik,
deputy chairman of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party)
(according to the Guardian, Sept. 8.)
Since an apology is a "precedent," Israel responded in the only way
it knows how. An accusatory campaign was launched against Turkey with
outlandish insinuations and direct threats.
"This is part of the Islamization spreading there, and we must
recognize it," said the senior official to Ynet. The leading Israeli
news source also published a column by one Ron Ben-Yishai, calling the
Turkish prime minister a "short-tempered thug." In "Turkey no great
power," Yishai accused the country of failing on most fronts. "Turkey
under Erdogan's leadership is neither a reliable ally nor a credible
rival," he charged.
These views are hardly marginal, and were matched by specific threats
by Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman. "We'll exact a price
from Erdogan that will prove to him that messing with Israel doesn't
pay off," Lieberman reportedly said. More specifically, he "urge[d]
all Israeli military veterans to refrain from traveling to Turkey
and facilitate cooperation with the Armenians -- Turkey's historic
rivals." He said he also plans to meet with the Turkish rebel group
the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) to "cooperate with them and boost
them in every possible area," according to UPI, Sept. 9.
Per this logic, demanding an apology for murder equals a thuggish act,
while stirring regional instability and admitting to supporting armed
militias is an acceptable diplomatic maneuver.
Turkey had no other option but to escalate before an obstinate "ally."
And considering the latter's existing isolation in the region -- and
the growing anti-Israeli sentiment in Egypt and elsewhere -- it is
likely that Israel, not Turkey, will lose out in this political tussle.
*Ramzy Baroud (www.ramzybaroud.net) is an internationally-syndicated
columnist and the editor of PalestineChronicle.com. His latest book
is My Father Was a Freedom Fighter: Gaza's Untold Story (Pluto Press,
London), available on Amazon.com.
Today's Zaman
Sept 15 2011
Turkey
The UN Palmer Report, which largely exonerated Israel for murdering
nine unarmed Turkish civilians in international waters on May 31,
2010, seemed in some ways like the last straw.
Prior to its publication, the camel's back had already mostly broken
and a collapse in Turkish-Israeli ties was looming.
Turkey's sin was seeking an apology for the killing of its citizens --
on their way to deliver essential, life-saving supplies to malnourished
and besieged Palestinians in Gaza -- at the hand of Israeli army
commandos.
If the civilians had been Israelis, and the commandos part of a
Turkish force, all hell would have broken loose. Israel and the US
would have declared Turkey a pariah state. Turkey, however, merely
demanded an apology, and it was affronted further for doing so.
Of course, this is not the first time that Israel deliberately provoked
and tested Turkish patience. Israel has attempted to infiltrate
Turkey's own political spaces by supporting its regional opponents
and arming various rebel groups with the aim of destabilizing Turkey.
Instead of acknowledging the country's rising significance and
accommodating the rules of the "new Middle East" political game, Israel
resorted to intimidation and insults. It repeatedly placed Turkey --
a thriving democracy and a proud regional power of 80 million --
in a very sensitive standing.
However, the anti-Turkish attitude in Israel was not an outcome of
the Mavi Marmara incident last year. "The height of humiliation"
is how an Israeli newspaper described a scene in which Israel's
Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon summoned Turkish Ambassador
Ahmet Oguz last January to humiliate him before Israeli media. Oguz
was reprimanded over a fictional Turkish TV show that was critical of
Israel. To ensure that the point had been successfully made, Ayalon
"urged journalists to make clear that the ambassador was seated on
a low sofa, while the Israeli officials were in much higher chairs,"
according to the BBC (Jan. 13, 2010). Ayalon noted that is "there is
only one flag here" -- the Israeli flag -- and "we are not smiling."
How did Turkey respond? A statement issued by the foreign ministry
"invited" their counterparts in the "Israeli foreign ministry to
respect the rules of diplomatic courtesy." Hardly outrageous. The
gist of the Turkish message that followed the murder of the Turkish
humanitarian activists a few months later was not much different. It
basically asked for an apology.
Turkey was shunned for the seemingly unreasonable demand. An unnamed
senior Israeli official explained the Israeli logic to Ynet news on
Sept. 2, following Turkey's decision to downgrade ties with Israel.
"Turkey is an important country in the Middle East, but an apology is
a very strategic precedent for Israel in this region," he said. That
is true, Israel's diplomacy is predicated on unfair trade, violent
storming of humanitarian boats, subservient activities, espionage and
much more. Indeed, an apology for the murder of Turkish's civilians
would be a precedent.
Even after the recent publishing of Palmer Report -- a contradictory
and obvious attempt at exonerating the Israeli army while implicating
Turkish humanitarian activists -- Turkey acted responsibly. But it
also acted with the poise and dignity that is expected of a democratic
country expressing the wishes of the vast majority of its people. It
downgraded military, trade and other ties with Israel. Why should
Turkey share military intelligence with a country that murders Turks,
humiliates its diplomats and refuses to apologize?
Still, from Israel's point of view, Turkey has crossed all the
limits of acceptable behavior. "Turkish warships will escort any
Turkish aid vessels to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip," said Turkish
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in an interview with Al Jazeera
(as quoted in the Guardian, Sept. 8). At the same time, Turkish
diplomacy continued to offer a window of opportunity to detain further
escalation. "Our embassy in Israel is open, and the Israeli embassy in
Ankara is open. The relations would return to the old days if Israel
apologizes and accepts to pay compensation," said Huseyin Celik,
deputy chairman of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party)
(according to the Guardian, Sept. 8.)
Since an apology is a "precedent," Israel responded in the only way
it knows how. An accusatory campaign was launched against Turkey with
outlandish insinuations and direct threats.
"This is part of the Islamization spreading there, and we must
recognize it," said the senior official to Ynet. The leading Israeli
news source also published a column by one Ron Ben-Yishai, calling the
Turkish prime minister a "short-tempered thug." In "Turkey no great
power," Yishai accused the country of failing on most fronts. "Turkey
under Erdogan's leadership is neither a reliable ally nor a credible
rival," he charged.
These views are hardly marginal, and were matched by specific threats
by Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman. "We'll exact a price
from Erdogan that will prove to him that messing with Israel doesn't
pay off," Lieberman reportedly said. More specifically, he "urge[d]
all Israeli military veterans to refrain from traveling to Turkey
and facilitate cooperation with the Armenians -- Turkey's historic
rivals." He said he also plans to meet with the Turkish rebel group
the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) to "cooperate with them and boost
them in every possible area," according to UPI, Sept. 9.
Per this logic, demanding an apology for murder equals a thuggish act,
while stirring regional instability and admitting to supporting armed
militias is an acceptable diplomatic maneuver.
Turkey had no other option but to escalate before an obstinate "ally."
And considering the latter's existing isolation in the region -- and
the growing anti-Israeli sentiment in Egypt and elsewhere -- it is
likely that Israel, not Turkey, will lose out in this political tussle.
*Ramzy Baroud (www.ramzybaroud.net) is an internationally-syndicated
columnist and the editor of PalestineChronicle.com. His latest book
is My Father Was a Freedom Fighter: Gaza's Untold Story (Pluto Press,
London), available on Amazon.com.