Secretary of State John Kerry is in Istanbul, Turkey today in an effort to finalize an agreement initiated by President Obama while in Israel last month. The Obama administration is eager to re-establish a relationship between Turkey and Israel that is critical in the future of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations and overall peace and stability in the Middle East.
Turkey and Israel have long held a pragmatic relationship, preferring diplomacy over conflict. Despite past impediments, over the years both countries began to share an equitable partnership; sharing resources during natural disasters, making meaningful efforts at reconciliation over disputes and drafting a free-trade agreement held in place since 1996.
However, the relationship among the two countries was severed in May 2010 when an Israeli raid of a Turkish boat, the Mavi Marmara, carrying humanitarian supplies to Gaza left 9 people dead. The boat was one of 6 passenger and cargo ships carrying mostly Turkish citizens which approached an Israeli blockade put in place in 2007 to deter the smuggling of arms into the area now controlled by Hamas.
A Cyprus-based human rights group called The Free Gaza Movement assembled the flotilla which consisted of several organizations with passengers from 20 countries.
Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has repeatedly called for Israel to apologize and take responsibility for the deaths. In retribution, Turkey brought legal proceedings against four former Israeli commanders believed to be involved in the raid and further expelled Israel's ambassadors. Shortly after Turkey’s action, Israel reciprocated with the expulsion of Turkish ambassadors.
President Obama has made repeated efforts since the May 2010 incident to mitigate the impasse and call on both sides to reconcile and restore the critical relationship between Israel, Turkey and the United Sates. However, it was not until the end of his recent trip to Israel when Obama convinced Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to make a long awaited phone call to Erdogan expressing an apology for Israel's actions and a commitment to compensate the families of the 9 passengers.
Further discussion led both leaders to agree on restoring normal relations, cancel Turkish legal proceedings and allow the return of ambassadors.
“The United States deeply values our close partnerships with both Turkey and Israel, and we attach great importance to the restoration of positive relations between them in order to advance regional peace and security,” Obama said in a statement.
A country with a 99%(7) Muslim population, Turkey is seen as validation that Islam and democracy can coincide. This unique paradigm is the piece of the puzzle which makes this unlikely Turkish-Israeli relationship work -- both countries share the vision of a democratic Middle East.
Turkey is viewed as Israel's most important ally in the Muslim world, because Erdogan has the ability to bridge the gap between the Muslim world and a democratic Israel. Erdogan has successfully mediated disputes between Israel, Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan as well as Israeli negotiations with Syria. This relationship is perceived by the Obama administration as critical in the strategic efforts to re-establish negotiations over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The agreement thought to be a clear win for the Obama administration still requires execution by both parties -- an undertaking which is being led by Secretary of State, John Kerry as he meets with Turkish officials today followed by a second trip to Israel for similar meetings with Israeli officials.
At a news conference in Istanbul today, Kerry told reporters, "We would like to see this relationship that is important to stability in the Middle East and critical to the peace process ... get back on track in its full measure".
The urgency for both sides to reconcile reflects the concern of Kerry and other officials that any delay may thwart the entire agreement which in the end will be a further roadblock to Israeli-Palestinian negotiations and overall peace and stability within the region.
Comments