Fri 04 March 2022:

Turkiye will not turn its back on its commitment to a Palestinian state in order to broker closer ties with Israel, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said , ahead of an expected visit by Israeli President, Isaac Herzog, this month, Reuters reports.

The two countries expelled their ambassadors in 2018 after a bitter falling-out and relations have remained tense, but Ankara has taken steps to mend strained regional ties, including with Israel.

Turkish President, Tayyip Erdogan, said Herzog would visit Turkey in mid-March, the first such trip in years, adding the two countries could discuss energy cooperation. Herzog has yet to confirm the visit.

Ankara, which supports a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, has condemned Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and its policy towards Palestinians, while Israel has called on Turkiye to drop support for the militant Palestinian group, Hamas, which runs Gaza.

“Any step we take with Israel regarding our relations, any normalisation, will not be at the expense of the Palestinian cause, like some other countries,” Cavusoglu told reporters in Ankara, referring to the rapprochement between Israel and some Gulf countries that has angered Turkiye.

“Our position there is always clear,” he added. “These ties normalising a bit more may increase Turkiye’s role regarding a two-state solution as well, as a country that will be in touch with both countries, but we will never turn back on our core principles.”

Gulf States that have established ties with Israel have sought to reassure the Palestinians that their countries are not abandoning the quest for statehood, despite Palestinian leaders having decried the deals as a betrayal of their cause.

While Erdogan has spoken to Herzog before, during the tensions, the Israeli presidency is a largely ceremonial role. In November, he spoke to Israeli Prime Minister, Naftali Bennett, the first such call in years.

Erdogan’s spokesman, Ibrahim Kalin, said on Monday there was a “positive approach” from Israel since the formation of their new government, according to broadcaster, A Haber, while Bennett told reporters “things are happening very slowly and gradually”, when asked about the possible visit to Turkey.

A senior Israeli official who requested anonymity said the country was “progressing with a good deal of care when it comes to Turkiye”, but added regional tensions should not prevent the two countries from collaborating.

Israel drops condition for Turkey to crack down on Hamas

Israel is no longer making it a condition for Turkey to arrest or crackdown on Hamas members in order to restore relations, signifying a major shift in the two countries’ reconciliation process.

According to the Jerusalem Post, an anonymous senior Israeli official revealed last night that “We didn’t set a condition” for the crackdown on Hamas officials and members in Turkey, assuring that Tel Aviv is still “working very carefully on this matter”.

The official added that, while it was no longer making it a condition as part of “a very careful process of growing closer, there are gestures, here and there. We do see increased Turkish activity against terror in their territory.”

Relations between Israel and Turkey have, for years, been strained due to issues such as the Israeli attack on the Turkish aid flotilla in 2010, Israel’s constant shelling of the Gaza Strip and the declaration of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel by the former US administration of Donald Trump. Such issues have resulted in numerous diplomatic spats and the breakdown in relations over the years.

There has recently been a push for reconciliation between Ankara and Tel Aviv, however, with negotiations going back and forth throughout the past year. A major condition, previously set by Israel for the restoration of ties, was that the Turkish government should crack down on elements of the Palestinian resistance group, Hamas, within its borders.

That condition stemmed from claims by Israeli media, since 2019, that prominent Hamas figures were using Istanbul as a safe haven, that the group had set up an office and secret facility to conduct cyber-attacks on Israel, and that it was recruiting Palestinian students in Turkey to send them to the West Bank as agents.

The Israeli government has also long been concerned with the Turkish government’s vocal support of the Palestinian cause and its efforts to mediate between Hamas and its rival faction, Fatah, or the Palestinian Authority (PA).

Despite Tel Aviv seemingly willing to now drop that condition, it has still been cautious of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s overtures for reconciliation, with Israeli Prime Minister, Naftali Bennett, saying earlier this month that “things are happening very slowly and gradually”.

In response to that Israeli condition, Turkey has previously made its own condition that Israel’s policies must be more “sensitive” towards Palestinians in order to restore ties.

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