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‘Turkey’s tough policy on Israel is what some EU states want to have’
Joost Lagendijk, the former chairman of the delegation to the EU-Turkey Joint Parliamentary Committee, has said some European countries would like to adopt a more uncompromising stance toward Israel's policies in the region in light of its Gaza campaign which has been seen as disproportionate against the threat it faced.
Lagendijk also said Turkey's talking to Hamas is not odd considering the fact that some countries of the European Union do so behind closed doors.
“Turkey is doing what some European countries are doing behind the scenes. Most European countries welcomed Turkey's efforts,” said Lagendijk, who was a speaker on Monday when Turkey's foreign policy in the Middle East was debated at a round table meeting organized by the Heinrich Böll Stiftung office in Turkey.
Journalist and writer Cengiz Çandar, who was also a speaker at the meeting, said it is the lack of a European policy in the Middle East that has paved the way for Turkey to become an autonomous player in the region.
He said Turkey had not been made to pay for raising objections toward Israel with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's Davos walkout in protest of Israel's three-week offensive in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip in December and January. He added that Erdoğan was even invited to Washington, D.C., by US President Barack Obama despite having had a meeting in Pittsburgh during the G-20 meeting only a few weeks earlier.
“Of course, the issue of Turkey-Israeli relations will be on the agenda between Erdoğan and Obama. A few years ago it would be unthinkable to talk with such a negative tone, damaging the immunity of Israel in international area,” he said. “Turkey hasn't been made to pay a high price for lambasting Israel.”
Hüseyin Bağcı from the Middle East Technical University (ODTÜ) noted in his speech at the İstanbul Forum on Monday that Erdoğan has tried to strike a balance regarding Israel, as he outlined his foreign policy vision stressing peace and cooperation and focusing mostly on the Middle East where problems can be solved by regional players rather than outsiders.
“The prime minister has voiced some anti-Israeli policies but he is pragmatic,” Bağcı said.
However, he added some Turkish acts, such as one of the state-owned TRT channels broadcasting a series depicting Israeli soldiers shooting civilians, “create trauma” in Israel, which has extensive defense ties with Turkey, a NATO member and one of the few Muslim nations to have built an alliance with the Jewish state.
“If Pakistan did this, if Arabs did it, the effect wouldn't be that great. Israel is untouchable in the West and since Turkey is with the West, Israel expects Turkey to see Israel as such. But Turkey is not doing it and therefore there are problems,” he said. “Israel might feel increasingly like a cat in the corner in the region. And if it stays there too long, it could be very dangerous.”
Sabri Sayarı from Sabancı University noted that Turkish-Israeli relations are not bilateral, but trilateral.
“In Washington, people of the Jewish faith have enormous influence,” he said, warning, “We did one television show [that portrayed Israel negatively] here, there may be many television shows produced [that depict Turkey negatively] in the United States.”
Meanwhile, Turkey may no longer be able to mediate indirect talks between Syria and Israel as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu does not want Ankara serving as mediator in any future diplomatic negotiations with Syria, even though Syrian President Bashar al-Assad had told Today's Zaman that they do not welcome the idea of holding talks with Israel without Turkey's mediation.
Brian Katulis from Center for American Progress said the days of Turkey playing the role of an honest broker between Syria and Israel are gone.
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