PERES VISIT HIGHLIGHTS POLICY DIFFERENCES OVER IRAN AND HAMAS
By Gareth Jenkins

Eurasia Daily Monitor, DC
Nov 13 2007

Turkish hopes that the official visit to Ankara by Israeli President
Shimon Peres would strengthen Ankara’s recently strained relationship
with Israel received a setback, following a very public disagreement
over the two countries’ attitudes toward Iran and Hamas.

The 1996 agreements between Turkey and Israel to cooperate in military
training and the defense industry were hailed by many as the beginning
of a strategic realignment in the eastern Mediterranean.

There were widespread expectations that they would be reinforced by
stronger political and economic ties. However, although bilateral trade
has continued to increase and Turkey has become a popular destination
for Israeli tourists, hopes that the rapprochement could be underpinned
by strategic projects, such as the transportation of Turkish water to
Israel, have come to nothing. Fundamental differences on a number of
key issues have overshadowed closer political cooperation, particularly
since the moderate Islamist Justice and Development Party (AKP) came
to power in Turkey in November 2002. AKP ministers have frequently
been outspoken in their criticism of Israel’s policies toward the
Palestinians. Privately, a large number of AKP supporters are not
just anti-Israeli but simply anti-Semitic (see EDM, November 5). In
February 2006, the AKP outraged many in Israel by hosting an official
Hamas delegation in Ankara.

But the October 10 decision by the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee
to characterize the killings of Armenians in World War I as a genocide
(see EDM, October 15) served as a reminder to Ankara of the benefits
of a good relationship with Israel. Previously, the Jewish lobby in
the United States had frequently campaigned on Turkey’s behalf in
Washington. However, in recent years – and particularly since the
Hamas visit – Jewish-American support for Turkey has waned. In the
wake of the Foreign Affairs Committee’s approval of the genocide
motion, several Turkish newspapers noted how many Jewish members of
the committee who had previously tended to support Turkey had voted
for the motion (Milliyet, Radikal, October 11).

The AKP is keen to play a major role in the Middle East peace process
by attending the summit meeting in Annapolis later this month as part
of a longer-term strategy of establishing Turkey as a regional power.

Yesterday (November 12), in an address to the Sixth International
Ataturk Congress in Ankara, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan
gave probably the most candid exposition to date of his government’s
goal of transforming the Middle East into a zone of Turkish influence.

"If those who want to do something in the region fail to achieve a
result the most important reason is the concept of doing something
‘despite Turkey.’ This is the biggest mistake made by the Europeans
and others," he said (Radikal, November 13).

But an attempt by Turkish President Abdullah Gul to reassure Peres
of Iran’s peaceful intentions led to a very public demonstration of
how far apart the AKP and Israel are in their attitudes toward the
regime in Tehran. Gul tried to assure Peres that Iranian threats to
"wipe Israel off the map" were just rhetoric and that Tehran had
no hostile intentions. Speaking at a joint press conference, Peres
retorted that Iran had publicly threatened Israel, that its nuclear
program was not for peaceful purposes and that Tehran was supporting
international terrorism. When asked whether he was worried about Iran’s
nuclear ambitions, Gul, in an unmistakable reference to Israel’s own
nuclear capabilities, replied: "We are against all nuclear weapons
in our region" (Milliyet, Radikal, Hurriyet, November 13).

When pressed by Gul to support Turkey’s efforts to prevent the killing
of the Armenians being characterized as a genocide, Peres merely
commented that he believed that all discussions about a genocide in
Turkey should be left to historians (NTV, CNNTurk, November 12).

However, he was more forthcoming about Turkey’s preparations to stage
a cross-border military operation against camps belonging to the
Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in northern Iraq. Peres declared his
support for Turkey’s right to defend itself before pointedly adding
that Israel was also struggling against terrorism and condemning what
he described as the steps Hamas was taking against the peace process.

In an implicit reference to Turkey’s contacts with the organization,
Peres then asked Turkey to use its influence to ensure the release
of two Israeli soldiers captured by Hamas in summer 2006 (Hurriyet,
Vatan, Radikal, November 13).

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress