Jew World Order

Since the fall of the Ottoman empire, and the end of its control of Palestine and the Levant region, the Turkish role in Palestine has never been as active as it is under the current Justice and Development Party (AK Party-AKP) government. This party is led by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the strongest nominee for the upcoming snap elections to take place on June 24, 2018. Since the arrival of AKP to power in Turkey in 2002, the Palestinian cause has been prioritized by Erdogan for many different reasons, including the ties that connect Turkey with the Muslim Brotherhood, and support for the Hamas government in Gaza for many years.  Erdogan has always highlighted Palestine in his speeches especially during general elections or the referendum. Yet, this time, this support for Palestine was also expressed by Turkish opposition parties, such as the Republican People’s Party (CHP), the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) and the Good Party.

Turkey did not hesitate to create tensions with Israel starting with its efforts to break the siege on Gaza. The peak of that tension was in 2010 when Israel attacked the Mavi Marmara Freedom Flotilla which was sailing to Gaza, thus creating a huge diplomatic crisis between Turkey and Israel. It is needless to say that while settling the diplomatic crisis with Israel, Erdogan was negotiating lifting the siege of Gaza and allowing humanitarian aid into Gaza as a condition to reach an agreement with Israel. Turkey has adopted passing a political position against the United States following its announcement of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and moving the American Embassy to Jerusalem on May 14, 2018.

Thousands gathered in Istanbul’s Yenikapı fairgrounds on May 18 to show solidarity with Palestinians after Israel’s aggression against Palestinian civilians on the Gaza border.
Photo: Hurriyet

Criticism for this move and support for Palestine was also expressed by other Turkish political parties, including by the leader of the Turkish Republican People’s Party, whose leader, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, criticized the US move and called for supporting Palestinians. Surprisingly enough, the leader of the Good Party, Meral Akşener, has visited the Palestinian Embassy in Ankara prior to the snap elections, in what many people thought was a move to gain more popular support among the Turks who tend to support the Palestinian cause. Currently, the Turkish population is so sympathetic to Palestine, such moves serve the interest of political leaders very well. In fact, last week, an Israeli journalist was beaten by Turks in Istanbul after attempting to interview them.

Erdogan as a charismatic leader has been always leading this debate, becoming known for his strict positions and strong responses when it comes to the Palestinian cause. As mainstream media outlets have revealed, the Turkish government has always called for demonstrations and rallies for Palestine and the Palestinian flag has become a permanent guest during their electoral campaigns, where Jerusalem posters could be spotted. These flags and posters have had a great emotional effect on the Turkish population. The use of Palestine in the Muslim world, including in Turkey, has been a norm to capture peoples’ minds and affect their political choices.

One might ask why Turkish snap elections would take place in a country that does not see snap elections. Following a 25-minute meeting with Devlet Bahceli, the leader of the Peoples’ Democratic Party, Erdogan announced holding snap elections on June 24, 2018 instead of November 19, 2018 as they were supposed to be held. The Turkish economy is going down and the Turkish Lira has lost nearly 20% of its value throughout the last year. Turkey has been seeing political and economic instability and the faster the elections are held, the better for the ruling party, as the AKP has been losing some of its popularity due to the decline of the Turkish economy, Turkey’s role in Syria and its relations with the Arab World, especially its role in the ongoing intra-conflicts there.

The Second Freedom Flotilla 2018 has been launched in Europe. The final leg of the flotilla will be from Italy to Gaza. Turkish NGOs are planning to join in the flotilla, which was launched concurrently with the beginning of the electoral campaigns for the upcoming snap elections in Turkey. The question is, was it a coincidence to send a second flotilla to Gaza prior to the upcoming snap election, or it was a pre-planned move? And has the Great March of Return impacted AK party campaigning?

Turkey is set to escalate tensions with Israel and Europe as Europe is still questioning the fairness of the snap elections, banning Turkish politicians from campaigning from European soil. This has been the case in Austria, Germany and the Netherlands and more EU members are expected to follow suit. Nearly 3.5 million Turks live in these three countries. Europe is pointing out the lack of transparency which would lead towards a one-man rule, an accusation that Turkey fully reject.

Sending the flotilla at this time will increase the popularity of President Erdogan and raise his credit among his supporters, but also will increase tensions and diplomatic rift with the EU, Israel, and the US in many different ways. The EU position is clear in this regard. The EU believes that this move is controversial and might lead to unknown implications. Ankara is trying to turn the table on the EU member states by accusing them of clearly undermining the Turkish democratic values by imposing bans on Turkish politicians.

The Palestinian cause has always been a winning card in the Turkish national politics, and at a time when the AK party is facing criticism by the EU and the US, calling for Palestinian rights works well in the ongoing electoral campaign to the advantage of the AK party. Especially now, when Israeli violations against Palestinians participating in the Great March of Return are on full gruesome display and the EU has grown more critical of Israel following 11 years under brutal siege. Israel’s treatment of Palestinians at this time, when the US has moved its embassy to Jerusalem, the Great March of Return has brought stark the dehumanization of Palestinians in Gaza to the displeasure of Palestinians, Turks and the Europeans.