While Erdogan had set four conditions -an official apology, compensation for the families of the dead, international investigation and end to Gaza blockade- for normalization of ties with Tel Aviv after the deadly attack on the Gaza aid flotilla,
Ahmet Davutoglu, his foreign minister, has stated that Israel should either apologize or accept an international investigation on the incident. Turkey would cut diplomatic ties with Israel if these terms were rejected the media quoted Davutoglu.
In the first look, Davutoglu’s remarks hint that Turkey has withdrew from its initial requests, that is, four terms have actually shrunk to two. The prospect of breakup was however rebuffed by Israeli officials and Turkish media tried to say that Davutoglu was actually misquoted. Undoubtedly, the conflict between Israel and Palestine is the biggest conundrum in the Middle East. In recent days, both the U.S. President Barack Obama and General David Petraeus have underscored the necessity of solving the Palestinian issue in order to advance the U.S. policies in the Middle East.
In spite of its challenges in redefining relations with Israel, Turkey has aptly grasped the current specific regional and international circumstances and has come to the conclusion to seriously engage itself with the Gaza issue. Tension between Ankara and Tel Aviv is part of Turkey’s efforts to pressurize Israel so the Jewish state comes to an agreement with the Palestinians and end the Gaza blockade.
The key difference between Turkey’s Israel policy, and the one it has adopted towards Iran’s nuclear program, is the unpublicized coordination of Turkey with the United States in the former. Not be forgotten is Ankara’s limited maneuverability in both cases and the fact that it can’t move beyond the line drawn by Washington. Undoubtedly, Turkey will be forced to withdraw and alter its behavior if it tries to steal the limelight and assume the first role in these conflicts –which means a detriment to West’s strategic interests. Let’s not forget that Israel and Turkey have signed strategic military pacts and both belong to the West camp.
Interestingly, at the height of tensions between the two countries, Gabi Ashkenazi, Israel’s Chief of General Staff tells the Knesset that military relations are “good” and that he has personally spoken with his Turkish counterpart, General Ilker Basbug. Reduction of terms from four to one should be deemed as a green light by Turkey to repair the ties or at least carry out some damage control.
In less than one year, Turkey will held parliamentary election, while AKP has boosted its popularity after the row with Israel. Meanwhile, Israel sends signals that it acknowledges Turkey’s role in the Middle East Peace Process. Further developments in Ankara-Tel Aviv relations are on the way.
