Israel and Turkey are two of the United States closest allies in the Middle East; so it is in our best interest that these two nations carry on cordially. However, after the Israeli attack of a Turkish humanitarian aide flotilla ship, Mavi Marmara, en route to Gaza, those relations have been strained, to say the least. A surprise apology from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Erdogan took place in 2013, but was is enough to mend the wounds that were created by the Israeli assault? On the surface, some would say that everything is back to normal, but my analysis leads me to believe otherwise. The events of 2010, and the succession of events after, have changed the relationship of Turkey and Israel for decades to come.
In 2010, a flotilla of humanitarian aide left Turkey en route to Gaza. One ship in particular, the Mavi Marmara, was carrying several dozen passengers and various aide items such as concrete and tools for construction, as well as food, clothes, and medicines (Mavi Marmara: The Inside Story). At the time of departure, Gaza was under an Israeli Naval Blockade, and no one was allowed inside of the blockade whatsoever. The Israeli Defense Force put out an offer that they would inspect all aide and deliver it to Gaza themselves. However, the humanitarian workers upon the Mavi Marmara had no intention of letting Israel deliver the aide. They considered the blockade on Gaza to be breaking international law, and they did not intend to honor it, despite the Israeli’s threats of force (Mavi Marmara: The Inside Story). When the ship got closer to the Israeli hold, things took a turn for the worst.
Israeli Defense Forces sent warnings out to the Marmara that they would be subject to Isra...
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... close relations with Iran are but a smack-in-the-face to their former ally. It is clear to me that these two countries have not forgiven, and have certainly not forgotten. It is going to take more than three years for Turkey’s wounds to heal, and for the two to rebuild the trust in each other they once had.
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In the novel War and Peace In the Middle East, author Avi Shlaim argues that Arab nations have been unable to escape the post-Ottoman syndrome. In particular he describes how the various powers inside and outside the region have failed to produce peace. While some of Shlaim's arguments hinder the message, I agree with his overall thesis that the Middle East problems were caused and prolonged by the failure of both powers and superpowers to take into account the regional interests of the local states.
Turkey had important geopolitical position because of that USA would not want to lost turkey. As long as the economic crisis exists in turkey the Turkish foreign policy will be more depended on USA and IMF. But at the and when we look at the current events in international arena, especially the visit of president of Turkey Ecevit to united states in January 14, 2002 we see that the USA- Turkish relations becoming better.
This marked the beginning of the Palestine armed conflict, one of its kinds to be witnessed in centuries since the fall of the Ottoman Empire and World War 1. Characterized by a chronology of endless confrontations, this conflict has since affected not only the Middle East relations, but also the gl...
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America’s role in the establishing of Israel marked the beginning of resentment among many Arabs and Muslims communities (Evara, Stratmann & Natta 2007). With this political stand, the US was forced to adopt policies that conflicted with major political movements in the region, namely secular pan-Arabism and Islamic fundamentalism. Egypt was on the forefront pushing for the first movement; it described its position on the Middle East and the rest of the world. Both the movements called for unity among the Muslim and Arabic community. Consequently they alienated the western countries, to an extent of advocating for violence. In 1991 the relationship was complicated further when the US led the gulf war against Iraq. However the more recent September 11, 2001 terrorist attack on America soil hig...
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The pro-Israel intervention represented the US foreign policy reaction when the violation to regional stability was committed by Israel. The cases discussed above were evaluated against the US reaction to Israel’s regional behaviour; in terms of whether the Israeli behaviour served or hampered US interest in maintaining regional stability and whether or not the US opposed Israel when it acted in ways that the United States deemed undesirable. It was concluded that, as a general rule, Washington was ready to intervene to address any violation to the status quo in the Middle East system except when this violation was committed by its regional surrogate. Israel had contributed directly in destabilizing the Middle East system (pushing the system out of its equilibrium point) in several cases, four of which have been discussed above. These crises, in spite of their negative effect on regional stability, witnessed minimal US reaction.
Soon after Hamas won the 2006 parliamentary elections, Israel imposed an increasingly harsh blockade on Gaza to put pressure on Hamas. The blockade imprisoned 1.8 million innocent Palestinians leading many of them to live below poverty levels due to limited food, medical supplies, and essential goods. The siege of the Gaza Strip made getting news coverage a near impossibility for foreign news media. In order to receive a press card to Gaza, journalists needed to undergo a security check and sign a censorship form agreeing to submit the articles they have written during their time in Gaza to the Israeli government. If reporters or journalist did not follow the rules of Israel or practice censorship, they were harassed, imprisoned, or threatened by the Israeli government. Many reporters kept what they seen to themselves until they were safely back in their countries where they wrote what they truly seen inside. Others just wrote what they believed was right while they were in Gaza jeopardizing their lives. The United States Media, however, was strictly on the Israeli side and would overlook or avoid certain topics about the Gaza blockade. Many times the American media manipulated or framed the story in a way to mislead readers from what the reality of the Gaza blockade was.