(Jerusalem Post) Ely Karmon - Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has followed a manifest anti-Israeli policy since 2006. Leaders of his AKP party feel close to Hamas, at the expense of the Palestinian Authority. In spite of Israel's diplomatic attempts to convince the Turkish government to transport the humanitarian aid to Gaza through the Israeli border, the Turkish leaders preferred to support the provocative flotilla. It seems the Turkish government was interested in ending the Gaza blockade and Hamas' international isolation. The Palestinian issue is a populist flag for the Islamist masses against the background of a continuing recession in Turkey and the recent rise of the secularist Republican People's Party, according to recent polls.
2010-06-02 09:05:20Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive