Whose work is the Israel-NATO partnership?

Regarding the NATO meeting held in Washington, Erdoğan said, "We have successfully completed another historic summit," and thanked the US authorities, specifically President Biden, for their hospitality, and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and his team for their efforts.

Let us continue to discuss what we gained and gave away on behalf of our country, which is surrounded by threats on all sides, at this "historic summit," and how these were presented to our nation.

ROARING BEFORE THE MEDIA AND SALUTING NATO

We do not know exactly what Erdoğan said to his counterparts in his speech at the summit and in bilateral meetings, but his statements before the media are tremendous(!)

First, he spoke to Newsweek magazine. After talking at length about Turkey's commitment to NATO and the importance of NATO, he emphasized that the lack of support from allies for our fight against terrorism "cannot be tolerated," and said, "The acceptance of the leaders of terrorist organizations that pose a threat to Turkey's national security as legitimate actors is also inconsistent with the spirit of the alliance..."

He stated that he has different views from US President Biden on "FETÖ and human rights," but added, "Ultimately, we are two allied countries... We have deep-rooted ties and we intend to develop them."

He reiterated that they do not want a "direct conflict" to break out between NATO and Russia, and announced that Turkey will not be a party to this war...

He reacted to the massive support the US gives to Israel with the words, "They are doing it at the cost of being an accomplice..."

In the press conference he held after the summit, he explained the following in summary:

UKRAINE: "We reviewed the decisions we took in the context of Ukraine at previous summits. Furthermore, we agreed on new concrete steps. We approved NATO's initiative for security assistance and training support for Ukraine. We decided to provide multi-year financial support to Ukraine and to appoint a NATO senior representative to Kyiv... I shared my views here with an open heart that NATO should never be allowed to become a party to the war in Ukraine."

FIGHT AGAINST TERRORISM: "The decisions we took during the accession processes of Finland and Sweden to NATO and the permanent consultation mechanisms we established have served to better understand the dimensions of the terrorist threat, especially the PKK. However, it is impossible for us to accept the distorted relationship that some of our allies have established with the PYD/YPG, the Syrian offshoot of the terrorist organization PKK. I reiterate my call here to abandon these erroneous policies that harm the unity and integrity of the alliance."

GAZA: "The continuation of military support to Israel is unacceptable. In my address at the session, I emphasized this issue with sensitivity. It is not possible for the Israeli administration, which tramples on the fundamental values of our alliance, to continue its partnership relationship with NATO. Until a comprehensive and sustainable peace is established in Palestinian territories, initiatives towards cooperation with Israel under the auspices of NATO will not be approved by Turkey."

While we do not want NATO to be involved in the Russia-Ukraine war, we have supported all the decisions NATO has taken to support Ukraine...

On one hand, we have complained about allies not implementing the decisions taken at the Madrid and Vilnius summits and acting as patrons to terrorist organizations, while on the other hand, we have declared our loyalty to NATO and its boss, the US...

We went to Washington to challenge the world on the issue of Gaza; but the name of Gaza was not mentioned in the NATO Summit declaration...

Despite this, wouldn't the world media report those statements of Erdoğan as "He challenged NATO"?!

Wouldn't political analysts comment that the country that left the NATO table with the most strengthened hand is Turkey?!

And wouldn't our media take pride in these and make a list of "Turkey's gains"?!

And the top of the list of "gains" is that the summit after 2025 will be held in Turkey, which, in Erdoğan's words, will be "God willing, our salute to the world together with NATO from Istanbul"!..

WHO WON?

Let us give them their due; the picture at the NATO Summit did not sit well even with some pro-government writers.

Even Abdülkadir Selvi, after seeing the NATO declaration, emphasized that he concluded that the US's intention is to create new wars and make plans to start a third world war...

There were writers who reminded that "'Gladio' means NATO," who said, "NATO is the armed stick of the US... No matter what anyone says, the third world war has begun," and who made the assessment that "The 75th Anniversary meeting in Washington was a meeting where the brain death of the biggest bandit, NATO, occurred."...

But for some reason, it was forgotten that one of the allies that ensured this "unity and solidarity" image at NATO, or in the words of NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg, "the turning of an important corner and the laying of the necessary foundations for Ukraine to prevail against Russia," was Turkey!..

THE FINAL BLUNDER

There is much more to talk about regarding the NATO Summit; but for now, let us end with the outburst we quoted above regarding the Israel-NATO relationship.

Yesterday, we pointed out that the Foreign Minister of Israel, which is not a NATO member, also attended the summit and official dinners. Since Turkey has determined such a policy, shouldn't the presence of the Israeli minister at the summit or dinners have been protested in the first place?

Let us come to the essence of the matter, that is, how the NATO-Israel relationship was established.

Israel became a partner to NATO's Mediterranean Dialogue Forum in 1994. Then, in 2011, it wanted to open a representative office at NATO; but due to the Mavi Marmara attack, the AKP government vetoed both this and Israel's participation in NATO exercises in the Mediterranean.

However, in 2016, whatever happened, the AKP government lifted this veto and Israel opened a representative office at NATO.

While Ankara presented this development as "another step in the normalization of Turkey-Israel relations," the then and current Prime Minister Netanyahu made the statement, "A very important step for Israel's security."

In short; approving Israel's OECD membership in 2010 and the opening of a representative office at NATO in 2016 fell to the lot of Erdoğan, who in the 90s said, "Turkey's recognition of Israel is a black stain on our history"!..

8 years later, now, it is said, "Initiatives towards cooperation with Israel under the auspices of NATO will not be approved by Turkey," but how will this be done?

What does that mean; after giving such a blank check to NATO in Washington, will there be a bluff like not attending NATO meetings until Israel's representative office is closed or not allowing the 2025 summit to be held in Turkey?

We are in a state to be wept for on every front, indeed!..

Müyesser YILDIZ
July 13, 2024