(Washington Post) Jackson Diehl - According to the BBC, no British prime minister has ever spoken so harshly of Israel's handling of Gaza. Erdogan, of course, was delighted to have Cameron join his anti-Israel campaign. His Islamist ruling party encouraged the Turkish ferry whose attempt to break Israel's sea blockade of Gaza led to a clash in which nine Turks - all of them members or supporters of a militant Islamic "charity" - died. Since then Erdogan has been using the incident in a bid to compete with Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Hizbullah's Hassan Nasrallah for leadership of the Middle East's Israel-hating "street." Standing alongside Cameron, Erdogan compared Israel to the "pirates of Somalia." The new British government may win some points in Ankara. But the price will be paid by Israel, which has just seen the international campaign to delegitimize it gain a little more momentum.
2010-07-28 07:55:47Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive