2023-10-22 19:46:00
The war thwarts the Turkish president’s rapprochement with Israel. He still plays a mediator role.
The newly flared Middle East conflict is fueling anti-Jewish sentiments not only in the Arab countries, but especially in Turkey. The rapprochement with Israel that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan initiated last year could fall by the wayside. There is also a risk of new irritations in the already tense relationship with the USA. But Erdoğan hopes to play a key role in freeing the hostages.
All flags in Turkey flew at half-mast for three days. President Erdoğan ordered national mourning in memory of the victims of the explosion at Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza. Anti-Israel sentiment is so heated in Turkey that doubts about Hamas’ claim that Israel carried out the massacre are ignored.
Not a day goes by without pro-Palestinian rallies. Many protests show open hatred of Jews. Bilal Erdoğan, a son of the head of state, also took part in a demonstration in Istanbul. Participants chanted “Death to Israel” and “Down with the USA.” President Erdoğan described Israel’s actions in Gaza as “genocide” on Platform An official of Erdoğan’s AKP party, Süleyman Sezen, said at a party event that he cursed Israel and hoped for an early end to “this terrorist state.” Then he said: “I remember Hitler with gratitude.”
Sharp tones also come from the ranks of the opposition. The leader of the right-wing IYI party, Meral Akşener, described Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as the “Hitler of the 21st century.”
In Ankara, hundreds of demonstrators besieged the Israeli embassy. In Istanbul, participants in a rally attempted to storm the Israeli consulate. Israel has now withdrawn almost all diplomats from Turkey out of concern for their safety. The country issued a travel warning for Turkey and urged all Israelis to leave the country as quickly as possible.
What the newly ignited war means for Turkish foreign policy is still uncertain. The rapprochement with Israel, with which Erdoğan primarily associated the hope of joint energy deals, is in danger. There is also a risk of new irritations in relations with the USA. In the past, the USA and Israel have repeatedly criticized Erdoğan for his role as a protector of Hamas and the radical Islamic Muslim Brotherhood. Unlike the EU and the USA, Turkey does not view Hamas as a terrorist organization, but rather as a liberation movement.
But now there is hope based on the Turkish head of state’s good contacts with the Islamists: Erdoğan could possibly help release the hostages held by Hamas. In a telephone conversation with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Erdoğan offered to act as a mediator and spoke on the phone with the head of Hamas, Ismail Hanija, on Saturday. There is a lot at stake for the Turkish head of state. If it were possible to secure the release of more Israeli hostages, it would undoubtedly be a political coup for Erdoğan. But if the efforts fail, Turkey would find itself even more isolated in the West because of its proximity to Hamas.
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