Israel does not have any excuse whatsoever. Thus this lunacy, this act of bullying and this defiance should be properly understood.Israel is disturbed by Turkey’s presence, because Turkey is both a secular democracy and a Muslim country. It is very likely to grow based on its own values and emerge as a leader in its region. What Israel wants is a Turkey that it can control. Israel has always sought to turn Turkey into a country which needs and is bound to Israel, with support from the US administration and especially with the support of the Jewish lobbies in the US. To this end, it has preferred to cooperate with the military instead of the elected governments.
An event which Hasan Cemal of Milliyet recently recalled is particularly important. This is what Cemal wrote:
“It was in March of 1996. Turkey and Israel signed a military cooperation agreement. But the government [Mesut Yılmaz-led government] did not know about it. On April 6, 1996, 10 days after the signing of the agreement, then-Defense Minister Oltan Sungurlu was asked about the agreement. Sungurlu’s response is though-provoking with regard to the civil-military relations. ‘I do not know about the level of confidentiality of the agreement. I cannot comment on it. I do not know about the content of the agreement’, he said.”
Another anecdote is from me: In an interview published in the US Defense News journal in November 2009, Israeli President Shimon Peres said, in response to a question on whether Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was steering Turkey away from partnership with Israel and toward radical Islam: “Turkey is the only country in the world in which a non-democratic institutions, i.e., the army, is responsible for protecting democracy. This was really the case. But the military’s role has changed. Now the question is whether Erdoğan will take the Muslim population toward democracy or democratic forces will demand a more Islamic state.”
Now, you can re-assess these anecdotes from the framework of Israel, the Kurdish Workers’ Party (PKK), Ergenekon, juntas, coup plans and provocations. There is something else. The Thunderstorm action plan, included in the Sledgehammer coup plan, suggested triggering a war between Turkey and Greece by arranging the crash of a Turkish jet. I wonder if those who are preoccupied with the idea of overthrowing the democratically elected government are planning to implement the same plan with Israel.
By raiding our vessels and killing innocent people, Israel has showed that it is very much disturbed by a Turkey which is moving away from Israeli influence. In this way, it believes, it can teach Turkey a good lesson. But it also does something else. It tells its friends in the US and the EU that Turkey is changing its axis and protecting radical Islamic organizations, something they should be wary of. It conducts intensive propaganda and psychological warfare with its media extensions all around the world.
The trap is to sever Turkey from the West and to suspend Turkey’s EU membership process.
The Turkish government must see this trap. Of course, they should express the sensitivities of the nation against the state terror of Israel and they should raise their voice in international platforms and defend our rights with determination. Of course, Israel must be called to account for the banditry it performed and there should be no stepping back in this regard.
But, we must never ignore this trap. So we must keep away from the reactions that might add to polarization in such a period. We must stick to positive actions. In this region, feelings generally outweigh reason. Four members of the Committee of Union and Progress had allowed German ships to enter our ports so that we were pushed into World War I.
In such periods, prudent and courageous voices are needed. They end up justified in the end, even if they are criticized.
