Will there be peace in the Middle East?
by
Metin Atmaca*

Turkey has been at the forefront with its intermediary role to see that two states, Israel and Palestine, can live together, side by side. This has increased interest and awareness in the Middle East and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict among the Turkish people. Of course, this is not the only reason, as Turks have more issues with the Western world, such as the never-ending demands of the EU, resulting in the estrangement of the Turkish state and people from the organization. Also, one needs not forget about the rise of interest in religion in the Middle East and thus universalist approaches to their coreligionists. These and several other less important factors have given birth to new political equations in and around Turkey. The Turkish government, the media and the status quo, namely the military, were able to adjust to this new political environment.

At the same time, what has happened in Turkey has been partially emulated by Syria, by Iraq -- particularly in the Kurdish region -- partially in Iran and in the Central Asian countries. The US's lonely partner in the Middle East, Israel, and the US's failure is not being able to read and understand this change and thus the inability to adjust to it. Otherwise, the deadly mistakes, such as the one that happened concerning aid workers, would not have occurred, and Israel would not have called one of the largest humanitarian organizations, the Humanitarian Aid Foundation (İHH), a “radical group.” Israel's “big brother” would condemn such actions properly instead of just expressing weak “regrets.” Such mistakes were made in the US against pro-Palestinian humanitarian organizations such as the Holy Land Foundation, which was a large charity that was closed. Some of its employees were imprisoned, some for more than 40 years, and all of its funds were confiscated. The US needs to immediately revise its policies and its White House advisors and try to understand why it has been failing in its Middle East plans over and over in the last couple of decades.

Turkey will not go to war or retaliate as Israel did four years ago against Lebanon and last year against Palestine, which resulted in more than 3,000 deaths and huge public humiliation only for its three kidnapped soldiers. This is not sane but madness and nonsense, and this is typical for Israelis. What is not typical is the “zero problems” policy with its neighbors and the Middle East that Turkey has been putting into action. Thanks to the well-experienced team under the leadership of Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu and President Abdullah Gül, who is a former foreign minister, Turkey is trying to establish a peaceful region and to teach others how to coexist with one another in such a tense environment. So, the Western world and Israel can be assured that Turkey will exhaust all diplomatic avenues and will cooperate with the international community to push Israel to end such a stance and explain its aggressive attitude. There is no need to go into details of what the aforementioned names, chiefly Davutoğlu, have accomplished in the last two years in Iran, Syria, Armenia and Greece, which were considered “external threats” to Turkey just 10 years ago.

Interestingly enough, many of their accomplishments were sabotaged by either Israel, because it did not want to cooperate, or the US, as in the case of Iran's uranium exchange, again because of Israel's irresponsibility. All these two can do is to call the Muslim world “fundamentalist” or “extremist,” which are words used by Israel, pointing to the Muslim countries around it, and reused by the US in any context it wishes. Where does Israel get the encouragement to act carelessly? The answer is clear. So the problem is these two misreading the Middle East and the world around them, not the Gazans, who were left for dead by Israel, and the volunteers, who put their lives in danger to extend their hand in the name of humanity. States lose their face and respect, but humanity never.