Istanbul, Turkey – The conflict on Gaza has seen Turkey step ahead as a possible mediator to not solely finish Israel’s bombardment of the Palestinian enclave, but additionally convey lasting peace to one of many world’s most intractable conflicts.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has led his nation’s bid, eager to advertise Turkey as a worldwide participant and replicate Ankara’s success in mediating between Ukraine and its invader, Russia, to strike a deal for Kyiv to export grain.
Hamas’s October 7 assault on Israel and Israel’s retaliatory air raids on Gaza – which have but to finish – got here as Ankara and Tel Aviv have been fostering warmer ties after greater than a decade of hostility.
Ties to each side
Turkey has relations with Hamas, making it one of many few nations with any affect with the group that has dominated Gaza since 2007.
Ankara didn’t declare Hamas a “terrorist organisation”, main Tel Aviv to protest that Turkey-based Hamas members have been concerned in planning assaults on Israel.
“Turkey has a superb communication channel with Hamas, which is a vital asset,” Taha Ozhan, analysis director on the Ankara Institute, mentioned. “It has been constructed up over 17 years, when Turkey was the one nation to invite Hamas into [its capital].
“In these instances of disaster, the communication channels and relations are necessary,” mentioned Ozhan, a former chair of the Turkish parliament’s overseas affairs committee.
Turkish officers – led by Erdogan and his overseas minister, Hakan Fidan – have acted on this benefit, seeing a central function for Ankara in resolving the newest Gaza battle.
Their fast focus has been on getting humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza and in search of the discharge of some 200 hostages taken by Hamas.
Talking in Beirut on Tuesday, Fidan mentioned “a wide range of nations” had requested Turkey for assist in releasing their residents.
“We’ve began discussing … with the political part of Hamas,” he mentioned. “We’ve been placing numerous effort to guarantee that kids and foreigners particularly are launched.”
Assist for Palestine
There’s vast public support in Turkey for the Palestinian trigger, with pro-Palestine demonstrations drawing hundreds of Turks in latest days.
On the identical time, Turkey had relations with Israel for a lot of Israel’s historical past, till issues hit a tough patch in 2010.
That 12 months, Israel killed 9 Turks who have been on board a Freedom Flotilla making an attempt to ship humanitarian help to a besieged Gaza Strip, with a tenth dying after years in a coma. Relations have been restored in 2016, solely to crumble once more in 2018.
That 12 months, Israel handed a regulation declaring itself the “nation-state of the Jewish folks”, drawing criticism from Erdogan. Then the USA moved its embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and Israel killed tens of protesters taking part within the Great March of Return in Gaza.
This has resulted in Erdogan being held in excessive regard by Palestinians.
“Erdogan stays lionised in Gaza, the West Financial institution, and throughout a lot of the Arab world, because of his historical past of utilizing harsh rhetoric to assault Israel’s insurance policies in the direction of the Palestinians,” mentioned Wolfango Piccoli, co-president at political threat advisory group Teneo.
This lionisation survived when Turkey modified gears final 12 months and began a regional rapprochement drive that noticed it rebuilding bridges with Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the UAE – and Israel.
‘New methodologies’
Fidan has been assembly leaders throughout the area, and held telephone calls with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh.
Ankara, he mentioned, is in search of to “open the door for a everlasting and complete peace” primarily based on a two-state answer, and urged Turkey might act as a guarantor.
“We don’t imagine there might be a everlasting answer through the use of the previous methodologies, so hopefully within the upcoming conferences we’ll proceed to precise our concepts on using new methodologies,” he mentioned in a joint information convention along with his Lebanese counterpart on Tuesday.
Ozhan says Turkey could also be greatest positioned to place ahead a political framework that allows discussions on the way forward for Palestinians. “Except we ask that query, every thing might be non permanent and even arbitrary,” he mentioned.
Ferhat Pirincci, worldwide relations professor at Turkey’s Bursa Uludag College, mentioned: “What Turkey has advocated from the very starting is that many issues, particularly frozen conflicts, will be resolved peacefully and due to this fact a sustainable peace will be established.”
However Turkey’s efforts at an enduring answer might be thwarted with out significant engagement from each side.
“With out speaking about occupation, with out speaking about Palestine and Palestinians’ state of affairs, there’s no room to maneuver, it’s simply speak,” Ozhan mentioned.
“It relies on if Israel – and the help it has coming from Washington and Europe – are actually enthusiastic about mediation.”
Warning of a “ripple impact” that would broaden the battle, he added: “The sensible selection must be re-establishing a political context and utilizing this disaster as a leverage to create a political framework. Nevertheless it relies on Israel and it relies on some Western capitals.”