Turkey lost lot of credibility over Israel deal: Analyst

Press TV has interviewed Catherine Shakdam, director of Shafaqna Institute for Middle Eastern Studies in London, to discuss Israel-Turkey agreement on the normalization of their relations, six years after an Israeli raid on a Gaza-bound Turkish aid flotilla killed 10 Turkish activists in high seas and sent their ties spiraling into a cycle of tensions.

A rough transcription of the interview appears below.

Press TV: I want to take a look at some of the statements that were made by Turkey’s then Prime Minister Erdogan when the actual raid happened. State terror, he said, Israel should be punished for its bloody massacre and attack on international law and the conscience of humanity and world peace and six years later here we have him and I do not see what he really got out of this deal, some future business in terms of gas maybe, because the siege is still in place .Who is the real winner here?

Shakdam: Well I think the real winner is Erdogan but it really goes to show that there is a great degree of hypocrisy when it comes to Turkey and Turkey’s stance towards Israel because as you mentioned six years ago this attack on the flotilla was a crime against humanity almost when really all Turkey wanted, I mean from the looks of it, was to just get compensation and a pathetic excuse from the Israeli government.

So it is again, it really shows that there is no real stance for justice when it comes to the Palestinian issue and it has never been about Palestine or the Palestinian people, it has always been about Turkey and Turkey’s projection of power and six years ago it was just all about Turkey positioning itself within the Islamic world and it appeared to be a benevolent power which other people actually felt for and it was just one step towards the higher top of the pyramid, if you will, for Erdogan.

It was never about the people, it was never about the right thing to do, it was never about crimes against humanity, tyranny, oppression, repression and the horrors that the Israeli government continue to commit against not just the Palestinians but a great deal of people just because they do not fit what Zionist expectation of what people ethnicity should be, what people religion should be and how they should behave and so on.

So yes, Turkey I think has lost a lot of credibility not just politically but I think within the Islamic world people see and look at Turkey for what it is now which is a terrorist state. So yes, I guess that would make them friendly with Israel because they are standing on exact same footing so it would make sense but I do not think that Turkey can call itself a democracy. I do not think that Turkey should open its mouth quite frankly when it comes to crimes against humanity especially when it comes to Palestine because they betrayed the Palestinian people in the most violent way, I would say, because the Palestinian people thought they had a friend in Turkey and clearly they do not.

Press TV: So let’s take a look at some geopolitical impact that this may have and if it is not a possibility and that is the war on Syria. We are looking at obviously Turkey and Israel wanting the ouster of Assad, Turkey so much more involved in it. Do you think that there is going to be cooperation between the two now that there has been this reconciliation?  

Shakdam: Well quite frankly I think there has already been cooperation, I mean maybe not overtly but covertly anyway. So I do not think it is going to change anything other than allow for Erdogan and Prime Minister Netanyahu to actually have face-to-face talks and to be open about their relationship but when it comes to geopolitical understandings, yes, Israel and Turkey have been on the same page for quite some time and yes they want to see Syrian President Bashar al-Assad go but not just that.

I think as you mentioned it earlier it has to do with oil security, it is not just about control over geography, it has to do with control of natural resources and to be able to buffer Iran’s return into the international fold and Iran’s rise to power because you cannot … the map of the Middle East and they know the fact that Iran remains still a superpower even though it was under blockade for great many decades. Iran is coming back, I would say, with a vengeance not in that it is being violent but in that it is reclaiming its rightful place in the Middle East and it is a power that Turkey cannot take on by itself and so it is looking for friends right now in the region and Israel is a very convenient friend because they have the same enemy, I would say, in that they are refusing to see democracy rise in the Middle East, they are refusing to allow for people to have political self-determination, something that Iran has been promoting with Bashar, with Hezbollah for great many years and what better way to quash the Palestinian resistance which you find and fund in Turkey.

For Israel is a very selfish and very egocentric perspective and for immediate political gain against the resistance movement in Gaza but not just that, I would say as well that Israel has its eyes locked on Lebanon and Hezbollah and I think that Turkey will play a role in that, I am not sure quite exactly how but it will support Israel is saying and it will support Israel within the greater, I would say, an international landscape and that it is going to support what the US is doing and it is basically going to back up the Zionist lobby in Washington and in Europe.

So I think we are in for quite a lot of trouble when it comes to Turkey and Turkey I think would face resistance not just from inside its country but I think from outside as well because I would say that gloves are off now and people are seeing Turkey exactly for what it is.

Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.co.uk