A story in the Israeli press claiming that Turkey is obstructing efforts to secure Palestinian reconciliation has added fresh fuel to the belief in Turkish government circles that there is an international campaign to isolate Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his government diplomatically.
Turkey already plays a minimal role in efforts to bring about a negotiated settlement to the Syrian civil war because of Erdogan’s single-track Syria policy based on the toppling of President Bashar al-Assad by force. Turkey’s lack of ties with Israel and its strong support for Hamas, on the other hand, have ensured that Ankara has no role in the Middle East peace process, either.
The latest story claiming an obstructionist stance by Ankara vis-à-vis peace in the Middle East attracted attention after it appeared in the influential Israeli daily Haaretz. It came on the heels of claims by The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post — and later repeated by The New York Times — that Hakan Fidan, the head of Turkey’s intelligence organization known as MIT, tipped off Iran about Mossad contacts with Iranian operatives in Turkey.
Davutoglu has denied that claim, and the assumption among officials from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) is that Israel is leading a media campaign against Ankara in an effort to discredit the Erdogan government and further minimize its influence in the Middle East.
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