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Saturday 3 August 2013 - 06:35

Would Turkey decide to normalize with “Israel” again?

Story Code : 289280
Would Turkey decide to normalize with “Israel” again?
The governments of the two countries achieved important cooperation in the military, diplomatic, and strategic fields, and the two countries agreed on a lot of common interests and issues relating to stability in the Middle East.  

However, the diplomatic dialogue between the two countries suffers a lot of tension, after the statements made by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan following the attack on Gaza in 2009. The Israeli ambassador Kabi Levy stated that the relations between the two countries will return to its normal status in the shortest time. 

The Military security agreement in 1996 between Turkey and Israel: 
The concept of the security agreement “Ankara - Tel Aviv”, remained to be a mystery to many countries of the world and the peoples of the region and this agreement was unlawfully signed, for it was lacking the approval of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Turkish Parliament, and perhaps hiding this came as a result of the security dimensions in the items of this agreement. 

It is worth mentioning that this agreement was in sync with the altitude of the Islamic fundamentalism and the victory of the Islamic Welfare Party led by “Nazem Eddien Erbakan”.

The Israeli Defense Ministry has announced in a statement on March 18, 1996 that (Turkey and Israel signed an agreement in the fields of maneuvers and joint trainings and a strategic dialogue between the two countries has been accomplished). Below is some of what came in the strategic treaty between Turkey and Israel: 
1-    A plan to renew 45 F-4 aircrafts worth 600 million dollars, processing and updating 56 F-5 aircrafts, making 600 M-60 tanks, a plan to produce 800 Israeli “Merkava” tanks, a joint plan for the production of unmanned reconnaissance drones, and a joint plan for the production of surface to air “Bobby” missiles worth half a billion dollars with a 150 km range. 
2-    Exchanging the experience in training the fighting pilots. 
3-    Establishing joint land - sea - air maneuvers. 
4-    Exchanging military and security intelligence (information) regarding the sensitive problems such as the Iranian, Iraqi, and Syrian position. 
5-    Establishing a strategic dialogue between the two countries. 
6-    The Economic Cooperation (commercial, industrial, and military). 

The fields of developing the Turkish-Israeli relations after the collapse of the Soviet Union: 
After the collapse of the Soviet Union the bipolar regime has came to an end and significant developments in the region and the world took place as an ideological vacuum, power vacuity, changing the region geopolitically, and the independence of the countries of Central Asia and the Caucasus. Some of these developments have had an impact on the Turkish-Israeli convergence and Turkey and Israel were both working in the era of the Cold War as representatives of the West in reining communism. 

The role of the water crisis in the Turkish-Israeli cooperation: 
Water is an important and influential variable in the relations in the Middle East, and some thinkers assert that water in the future would be a scarce and expensive commodity, would replace oil, and would have basic credence in the talks and reconciliation in the coming decades. Most of the countries of the Middle East - especially Israel - are facing an acute shortage in water, and water in the Zionist ideology is of great importance and “Wiseman”, former President of Israel, believes that water is essential to the security and survival of Israel. Hence, according to the census in 1992, water consumption in Israel in one year is 1800 million cubic meters, and it provides about 40% of water from the Arab countries, and from the rivers of Jordan, Yarmouk, Banias, and the occupied territories (West Bank and southern Lebanon). 

A-     Israel’s objectives and reasons: 
1-    Achieving the goal of Zionism i.e. to reach the Promised Land (from the Nile to the Euphrates) is considered one of the nationalist and religious issues of the people of the Jews, of which they have been promised in the “distorted Torah”. Israel expresses its foresight to leave the hostility with Egypt, and to expand the relations with Ethiopia, Eritrea and Uganda (the headwaters of the Nile River). A treaty of cooperation with Turkey has been concluded to have access to the water of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in order to face the problem of water in the future and to achieve the goal of Zionism. 

2-    Facing the expansion of the Islamic Revolution is one aspect of the importance of Turkey to Israel; because Turkey is a Muslim country with a secular ideology and it opposes the interference of religion in politics. Israel considers that Islam is the real threat to it, and therefore this state can through Turkey achieve some of its goals in facing the Revolutionary Islam. 

3-    Having presence in the Iranian border so that to collect news and information and to monitor the vital and strategic centers of Iran. 
 
B-    Turkey’s objectives: 
1-    Attracting the support of the Jewish lobby; Turkey has lost its strategic importance after the Cold War against communism, and this was the reason for the decrease of West’s aid to Turkey. In order to continue the U.S. support to it, it needed the support of the members of the Congress and the President of the Republic and they were under the influence of the Jewish lobby. Attracting the Jewish lobby in America requires improving the relations with Israel, and for the same reason, Turkey shows tendencies toward Israel. 

2-    The confrontation with the Islamic fundamentalism; the Turkish secularism consider that some of its internal problems, including the growth of Islamic fundamentalism emanate from Iran’s Islamic revolution, and this perception of the Turkish statesmen who maintain the American and Israeli aids being provided for the Turkish government make them prevent the growth of the Islamic fundamentalism and seek to defeat it if they deemed it necessary. 

Nowadays, the process of re-gathering Turkey and Israel is taking place. But unlike the golden era of relations between the two countries in the nineties of the last century, the bilateral relationship will form significant challenges to Turkey more than to Israel. 

Israeli newspapers spoke with a lot of consideration about the report published by the “Turkish Radical” newspaper which touched on the secret talks currently underway between Israel and Turkey, which could lead the Jewish state to apology formally because of the attack that was carried out by the Israeli army on the earlier “Marmara” ship which was within the freedom flotilla heading to the besieged Gaza; the said process that took place on May 2010 have led to the death of nine Turkish activists, including one American. 

Additionally, the United States must be aware that Turkey has exceeded all the controls and remains being imposed on it by the Cold War as well as its military ties on the basis of its membership in the NATO, and that it will continue in its quest to become a major force that have a “common” effect in the Middle East and in the Islamic world. 

Fixing the Turkish-Israeli relations or the Turkish-American ones is to be done once Tel Aviv and Washington deal realistically and take into account Turkey’s interests and the orientations of the Turkish people, within the frameworks set by the “calm” revolution, led by Erdogan and his Foreign Minister Davutoglu. 

Yet, what would the size of the loss incurred by Turkey in the Arab and Muslim streets be if Ankara’s authorities decided to normalize relations with Israel once again?!
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