Erdoğan and Israel: Will It Be a Perpetual Honeymoon?

Since the Justice and Development Party (AKP), apparently with Islamic inclinations, ascended to power in Turkey in 2002, it has been a staunch advocate of international support for the Palestinians in their struggle against the tyranny of the Zionist regime. Moreover, the new Turkish administration opposed the 2003 US invasion of Iraq.
Erdoğan’s 2009 outburst at the World Economic Forum in Davos against Israeli President Shimon Peres, in which he called Peres a child-murderer and stormed out of the conference, sparked a tremendous upsurge of euphoria throughout the Islamic and Arab nations.
Many historians drew parallels between Erdoğan’s audacious character in that historical episode and Khrushchev’s shoe-pounding at the United Nations assembly in protest over a speech critical of the Soviet Union’s policies in Eastern Europe.
After decades of occupation and deafening silence from the international community, Erdoğan was cheerfully hailed and became a hero overnight across the Islamic nations, most notably the Palestinians, who were delighted that some politician finally spoke out against the atrocities committed against them.
The tension between Ankara and Tel Aviv reached a climax in late May of 2010 when Israeli commandos massacred nine Turks in a raid on a flotilla carrying hundreds of tonnes of humanitarian aid and medical supplies, attempting to break Israel’s blockade of the Gaza Strip. Subsequently, Turkey summoned its ambassador to Tel Aviv.
Despite this, the tragic incident paved the path for Erdoğan’s rise to prominence and popularity in the Arab world, which in turn tempted the ambitious Erdoğan to assume the mantle of the Islamic world’s leader and revive the infamous Ottoman Empire.
Even though the Israeli assault against the Turkish-led flotilla became an utter worldwide scandal for the Zionist regime, a few Turkish civilians were unaware of the intelligence and military collaboration between Turkey and Israel that continued uninterrupted.
Erdoğan’s ominous illusions of limitless geostrategic expansion gradually ended with a terrible debacle in Syria and Libya, which ultimately were succeed by severe depression and skyrocketing inflation.
As with all tyrants who meddle in every facet of state affairs, Erdoğan’s ill-advised support for a reduction in interest rates has led inflation rates to soar to almost 80%, the highest level in Turkey in 24 years.
This wrong financial strategy naturally caused the precipitous decline in the value of the Turkish currency and an unbridled increase in inflation.
To exacerbate the already desperate economic situation, Turkish net foreign assets have decreased by almost 50% over the previous five years, and foreign direct investment has fallen by 38%, while the Turkish economy continues to reel from deleterious effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The precarious economic situation eventually made Erdoğan acknowledge that his popularity was drastically declining, making it very unlikely that he and his ruling party could win the presidential and parliamentary elections scheduled for 2023.
Hence, to save his political future and recover Turkey from its current regional isolation, and with a US president hostile to Turkish agendas, the year 2021 witnessed remarkable efforts on the part of Erdoğan to mend ties with Arab rivals, above all, Israel, to attract much-needed foreign investment, to alleviate the Turkish economic downturn.
Meanwhile, many political commentators view Erdoğan’s rapprochement with Tel Aviv as a continuation of the humiliating 2020 Abraham Accords.
It was no accident that the Turkish President greeted the President of the Zionist regime, Isaac Herzog, with open arms on his landmark visit to Ankara in March of last year. In fact, Erdoğan made an assiduous attempt to make Herzog’s visit to Turkey a watershed moment, marking a new chapter in relations with Israel.
Erdoğan seems determined to fully normalise relations with the Zionists, regardless of his previous supportive positions toward the Palestinians. So, these extreme fluctuations in Turkish foreign policy clearly illustrate that Erdoğan is far more of a political chameleon than many assume.
Finally, on August 17th, Ankara and Tel Aviv announced the full resumption of their diplomatic relations and the exchange of ambassadors after a lingering dispute that lasted more than a decade. On the other hand, Lapid highlighted that the resumption of relations with Turkey represents an essential asset for regional stability and significant economic development for Israelis.
It is crucial to mention that, despite the ups and downs in their relations, even at the nadir of their ties, Turkey was one of Israel’s most important export partners, with trade between them amounting to $7.7 billion.
Additionally, the Zionist tourists, who visit Turkey by the tens of thousands each year, have also contributed to the thaw between Ankara and Tel Aviv, as Lapid, the interim Prime Minister of the Zionist regime, announced that direct flights from Israel to Turkey would resume soon.
Furthermore, in light of the energy crisis and the ongoing hostilities in Ukraine, Israel wants to export energy from its Mediterranean Sea gas and oil fields through Turkey to Central Europe to ease the looming energy crisis in the winter.
As the most tangible result of the Turkish and Israeli détente, the Hebrew-language daily, Yedioth Ahronoth, claimed on the very day that Ankara and Tel Aviv declared the resumption of their diplomatic ties that the next step in the efforts to cement Israeli-Turkish relations is Erdoğan’s imminent visit to Israel in 17 years.
Additionally, there are uncorroborated reports regarding the forced departure of members of the Palestinian Hamas movement from Turkey, in an apparent quid pro quo arrangement with the Zionist regime, which could herald a Turkish political reorientation in the Middle East.
In other words, the events that have elapsed over the last two decades indisputably have proven that Ankara is exploiting the Palestinian cause as a bargaining chip in its foreign relations and creating a public façade of legitimacy for domestic consumption.
To summarise, Erdoğan’s charade of pretending to care about the Palestinians’ plight is no longer plausible for most Palestinians as they become aware that economic benefits have a more value than ethics and Erdoğan’s political travesty of defending the Palestinians and their rights.
Many Turks, today, believe has Erdoğan has hijacked Turkish principles in its foreign policy for domestic purposes.