The war frustrates the Turkish president’s rapprochement with Israel. He still plays a mediating role.
The recent conflict in the Middle East is fueling anti-Jewish sentiments not only in Arab countries, but especially in Turkey. The rapprochement with Israel that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan initiated last year could be forgotten. There is also the risk of new irritations in the already tense relationship with the USA. But Erdoğan hopes to play a key role in freeing the hostages.
All Turkish flags flew at half-mast for three days. President Erdoğan ordered national mourning in memory of the victims of the explosion at Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza. Anti-Israel sentiment is so heated in Turkey that doubts about Hamas’ claim that Israel carried out the massacre are ignored.
Not a day goes by without pro-Palestinian demonstrations. Many protests show open hatred of Jews. Bilal Erdoğan, son of the head of state, also participated in a demonstration in Istanbul. Participants shouted “Death to Israel” and “Down with the USA”. President Erdoğan described Israel’s actions in Gaza as “genocide” on Platform An official from Erdoğan’s AKP party, Süleyman Sezen, said at a party event that he cursed Israel and hoped for a quick end to “this terrorist state.” Then he said: “I remember Hitler with gratitude.”
High tones also come from the opposition ranks. The leader of the right-wing IYI party, Meral Akşener, described Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as the “Hitler of the 21st century”.
In Ankara, hundreds of protesters surrounded the Israeli embassy. In Istanbul, participants in a rally attempted to invade the Israeli consulate. Israel has already withdrawn almost all diplomats from Turkey out of concern for their security. The country issued a travel warning for Turkey and urged all Israelis to leave the country as soon as possible.
What the recently unleashed war means for Turkish foreign policy is still uncertain. The rapprochement with Israel, to which Erdoğan mainly associated the hope of joint energy agreements, is in danger. There is also the risk of new irritations in relations with the US. In the past, the US and Israel have repeatedly criticized Erdoğan for his role as protector of Hamas and the radical Islamic Muslim Brotherhood. Unlike the EU and the US, Turkey does not see Hamas as a terrorist organization, but rather as a liberation movement.
But now there is hope based on the Turkish head of state’s good contacts with Islamists: Erdoğan could help free the hostages held by Hamas. In a telephone conversation with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Erdoğan offered to act as a mediator and spoke on the phone with Hamas chief Ismail Hanija on Saturday. There is a lot at stake for the Turkish head of state. If it were possible to secure the release of more Israeli hostages, it would undoubtedly be a political coup for Erdoğan. But if the efforts fail, Turkey will be further isolated in the West due to its closeness to Hamas.