Erdogan: ‘The only step to stop Israel’s arrogance and state terrorism is the alliance of Islamic countries’

Erdogan may be right, for the only thing that is the root of the burning hatred of Israel is the Islamic principle “Drive them out from where they drove you out” (Qur’an 2:191). The Israelis did not in fact drive the Arabs out, but that is the prevailing myth. The conflict has everything to do with Islam, and so Erdogan’s call is completely reasonable within that context. Western policymakers and foreign policy analysts, however, will continue to ignore the pivotal role of Islam in the conflict.

“A year of Israel’s onslaught: Türkiye stands firm with Palestine,” by Didenur Daştan, Daily Sabah, October 6, 2024:

Israel’s devastating war on Gaza has marked its first and bitter anniversary despite international calls for an urgent cease-fire.

NATO member Türkiye has been a traditional ally to Palestine but the more brutal Israeli attacks became, the harsher Ankara has made its criticism in the past year. It has condemned what it calls genocide, halted all trade with Israel and applied to join a genocide case against Israel at the World Court, which Israel rejects.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan says he is sad to see Muslim countries failing to take a more active stance against Israel, urging them to take economic, diplomatic and political measures to pressure Tel Aviv into accepting a cease-fire.

In addition to delivering humanitarian aid, his government has sought to rally international organizations, including the United Nations, NATO and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to both restrain Israel and encourage cooperation between Palestinian factions, most notably between Hamas and the Fatah movement.

“Going back over the last year, starting with Erdoğan’s speech at the U.N. General Assembly, we can see that these efforts were obstructed by especially the U.S. and the U.N. Security Council’s attitude and unfortunately the desired results weren’t achieved,” said Çağrı Erhan, the rector of Altınbaş University and a member of the Turkish Presidency’s Security and Foreign Policies Council.

Against these odds, Türkiye continues its diplomatic blitz on the issue. “Despite being left out of cease-fire negotiations Türkiye has maintained close contact with brokers Egypt and Qatar while trying to motivate Hamas for a possible cease-fire through its bilateral dialogue channel with its political leadership,” explained Haydar Oruç, a Middle East researcher who previously served as Levant Expert at the Center for Middle Eastern Studies (ORSAM).

Erhan points out that one of the most important efforts Türkiye has made was bringing together Palestinian factions for a united front. “Ankara has made several pushes to that end, especially before (Hamas leader) Ismail Haniyeh was killed but following his assassination Türkiye is now taking various facilitative steps for a rapprochement between Hamas and the Fatah movement, especially following Mahmoud Abbas’ visit to Ankara in August,” Erhan said.

Türkiye also stresses the importance of the unity of countries, especially Arab and Muslim countries to stop Israeli aggression. “Islamic countries should wake up, see the peril and increase the cooperation. All Islamic countries should adopt a common stance against the Israeli occupation. The only step to stop Israel’s arrogance, banditry and state terrorism is the alliance of Islamic countries,” President Erdoğan said in September….