Turkey in a diplomatic balancing act between the Arab world and Israel

Ankara trying to use its new regional influence while pacifying public’s fury at Gaza incursion

Demonstrators in Turkey shout anti-Israeli slogans at the entrance to the Ataturk Sports Arena prior to a basketball game between Turkey’s Turk Telekom and Israel’s Bnei Hasharon in Ankara on Tuesday. The basketball game was suspended after Turkish fans vigorously protested against the Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip, Turkish media reported. A referee suspended the game, part of a European basketball championship, and ordered the players back to the dressing room after hundreds of Turkish fans began chanting ‘Israel, killers!’ in the arena.

By Ibon Villelabeitia - Reuters

ANKARA – Turkey’s frenetic diplomacy to win a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas reflects its newfound clout in the Middle East and is also driven to appease a public opinion infuriated by the mounting death toll of civilians.

Turkey, a predominantly Muslim but secular country with good ties with Israel, has been playing a busy role in trying to bridge Arab division and broker a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

Since Israel began its offensive 12 days ago, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has visited Arab leaders in Syria, Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia. He has kept in touch with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and has sent his foreign minister to the United Nations, where Turkey has started its two-year term as a member of the Security Council.

Drawing on Ankara’s unique range of contacts, Turkish officials have also met Hamas leaders in Damascus. Ankara has offered to convey any Hamas ceasefire proposal to the UN.

As hundreds of thousands of Turks have taken to the streets to condemn the Israeli assault, Erdogan shocked close ally Israel by dubbing its operations “a crime against humanity,” in language that paled even that used by Arab leaders.

Ankara’s diplomatic offensive is in line with its growing regional diplomatic status and closer ties to the Middle East since Erdogan’s Islamist-rooted Justice and Development Party (AKP) took office in 2002. But it also underlines its delicate balancing act. A NATO member which aspires to join the European Union, Muslim Turkey has positioned itself as a mediator in a tough neighborhood.

“Turkey has leverage in the Middle East because of its growing ties with Arab countries and its relationship with Israel, but it cannot redefine the power game in the region,” said Fadi Hakura, from the London-based Chatham House. “Turkish diplomacy reflects its growing influence in the region, but it is also driven by domestic reasons. Turks are united in their disapproval toward Israel,” Hakura said.

Turkey, a close US ally, has strong military and strategic ties with Israel. Sales of Israeli military equipment to Turkey is estimated at $100 million annually and the two countries share vital security intelligence. Despite Erdogan’s harsh criticism of Israel and street protests, analysts do not expect damage in relations between Israel and Turkey.

Speaking to parliament on Tuesday, Erdogan said the strategic importance of Turkish-Israeli relations should overcome disagreements and “emotional exchange of words.”

“I would like to remind those who call for Turkey to freeze ties with Israel that we administer the Republic of Turkey, not a grocery market,” Erdogan told parliament.

An official at the Israeli Embassy in Ankara, which is ringed by riot police these days, agreed: “As we did in the past, we should overcome this disagreement and will come back to our good relations, like in other crises.” Leading political commentator Cengiz Candar said Turkey had to play a difficult balancing act in order not to alienate its sometimes conflicting allies.

“Turkey cannot be seen as being too close to Israel, but it cannot be seen either as being too close to Hamas. It is a difficult diplomacy. The bottom line is Turkey cannot risk its relationship with Israel so Erdogan’s rhetoric is just hot air.”

Turkey’s ruling AKP and the secularist opposition, which have fought bitter ideological battles over the role of Islam in public life, have been united in condemning Israel and in expressing support for the plight of Palestinian civilians.

Turkish secularist newspapers have run prominent pictures of Palestinian children killed by Israeli raids and of mosques damaged by bombs.

Turkey’s normally pro-Israeli military has privately expressed criticism over Israel’s actions, observers said.

“The crisis in Gaza has united the secularist and the Islamist camp. There is consensus in condemning Israel,” Hakura said.

ANKARA (AP) – Turkey’s police detained dozens of people in simultaneous raids yesterday, widening a probe into an alleged plot by secularists to overthrow the Islamic-rooted government.

Deniz Baykal, the leader of the country’s main opposition party, accused Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government of a “political vendetta” against retired generals, judicial authorities and others whom he said stood in opposition to the government. “The detentions have turned into a revenge campaign,” Baykal said. “These are respected people who have defended the secular republic.”

Baykal’s harsh reaction underscored a widening divide between the country’s growing Islamic political and business class and secular foes, some of whom have turned to violence.

Justice Minister Mehmet Ali Sahin rejected Baykal’s allegations of a political motive for the detentions, saying the arrests were “purely legal, not political.” The police detained yesterday yet another high-ranking former general, Tuncer Kilinc, and searched the house of the country’s former chief prosecutor, Sabih Kanadoglu – who filed a lawsuit in a failed attempt to disband Erdogan’s party on charges of undermining the country’s secular principles.

Some 40 others were also arrested, according to the state-run Anatolia news agency and other news reports. It was the 10th wave of raids on homes and offices of prominent secularists in more than a year. The police confiscated five guns and 22 hand grenades yesterday at the home of a retired military officer in western Izmit city, near Istanbul, Anatolia reported. Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) narrowly escaped a ban by the Constitutional Court last summer, but the court issued a stern warning to the party not to challenge the secular system. Eighty-six people are on trial for alleged involvement in a shadowy nationalist group and plotting an armed uprising against the government. Prosecutors charged the suspects with involvement in a terrorist group, accusing it of planning attacks and killings aimed at creating chaos that would lead to the overthrow of the government.