Regional capabilities are concentrating on rescuing human lives and bringing about a peace as tensions rise in and around Gaza and Israel pounds the Hamas enclave as it gets ready to launch an invasion. & nbsp,
The two countries seen as the most probable mediators in a fight that runs the risk of outpacing Hamas are Egypt, with its land borders, and Qatar. Turkey, however, is yet another competitor that must be taken into account.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the president of Turkey and a fervent Hamas champion, has saved the United States his harshest criticism since the problems. He & nbsp has warned that US military operations in the area could result in” serious massacres” in Gaza and continues to advocate for an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital within the 1967 borders.
Ankara has been urged to step inside by foreign officials in turn. Annalena Baerbock, the foreign minister of Germany, urged Turkey to use its diplomatic relations with Hamas to drive for the release of victims, including German citizens. Hakan Fidan, Baerbock’s Greek counterpart, responded by revealing a Turkish peace strategy.
relationships to Hamas
But is Turkey being asked to do more by the West than it can provide? The global community appears ready and willing to accept assistance wherever it may appear, eager for a remedy. However, there are two causes why Ankara is not likely to be that location.
The first is simply that Ankara’s connection with Hamas is very comfortable for some planet leaders to take, despite the fact that it may be helpful in this circumstance. & nbsp,
The second, which is more complex, concerns Turkey’s conflict in northern Syria with the Syrian Democratic Forces ( SDF ), which are dominated by Kurds. & nbsp,
Turkey has not designated Hamas as a criminal organization, in contrast to many Western nations. Ankara, on the other hand, has developed closer relations with the organization over the past ten years.
With Turkey’s approval, Hamas established an company in Istanbul in 2012. Ahmet Davutoglu, the then-foreign chancellor, saw closer ties with Hamas as a means of preserving his influence in the area as the Syrian civil war grew.
This raised questions in Israel, where ties with Ankara had deteriorated following the Gaza fleet assault in May 2010. Nine activists were killed and 10 Jewish soldiers were injured during an Israeli military operation against the Greek send Mavi Marmara, which was attempting to deliver humanitarian assistance to Gaza.
When the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs & nbsp published a report in December 2021 accusing Hamas of planning and directing hundreds of terror attacks against Israelis from its Istanbul headquarters, relations were further strained. The report was based on Israeli intelligence.
The Erdogan leadership, however, doubled down and granted citizenship to senior Hamas leaders and workers rather than severing its ties to the organization. & nbsp,
Older political leader Ismail Haniyeh and commander Saleh al-Arouri,” two of the possible masterminds behind the latest attacks ,” are among the top Hamas officials, according to Sinan Ciddi, a Turkey expert at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies in Washington.
After Turkey and Israel resumed full diplomatic ties in August of last year, signs that relations were beginning to strengthen are expected to be derailed by the Hamas harm.
It should come as no surprise that US and Israeli leaders are now urging Turkey to define its stance on Hamas, shut down the organization’s Greek offices, and revoke its leaders’ Turkish passports. Therefore, Erdogan must decide whether he wants to be a mediator or negotiator.
The Shiite query
The next obstacle, Turkey’s ties to the Kurds and the SDF, is even more overwhelming.
Turkey has launched an offensive against the People’s Defense Units( YPG ), primarily Kurdish and nbsp, militant organizations that make up the Western-backed SDF, as long as it has maintained ties to militant Hamas. Due to their affiliation with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party ( PKK ), which runs an armed guerrilla movement inside Turkey, Erdogan has branded the YPG as terrorists. & nbsp,
US President Joe Biden and his team recently launched an executive order to increase the US military’s presence in the region after a strike against the SDF and Turkey drone attack in northern Syria.
Turkey’s conflict with the PKK and, by association, the YPG / SDF has also given Europe geopolitical problems. Sweden, a potential part of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, has been charged by Erdogan with housing PKK soldiers. He has obstructed Sweden’s application to join NATO as retribution.
Erdogan’s anti-American speech and Turkish actions are seen by Washington as attempts to drive the US off Palestinian soil. This explains why trust between the two friends is at an all-time low and why Secretary of State Antony Blinken did not visit Turkey during his most recent visit of the Middle East. & nbsp,
President Biden, who arrived in Israel this month, is unlikely to turn to Erdogan in this dire situation in such a poisonous environment. Despite Ankara’s ambitions, Egypt and Qatar will be on the board as Washington looks for a way out of the Gaza crisis.
The copyright-holding Syndication Bureau, & nbsp, provided this article.