It has been six years since Israeli commandos attacked a flotilla of Palestine supporters trying to break Tel Aviv’s maritime blockade of the Gaza Strip. In the aftermath of the attack, which killed 10 Turkish citizens, diplomatic relations between the two allies froze. This week, a reconciliation deal was finally signed after years of negotiation moderated by the United States. Ambassadors will return to Ankara and Tel Aviv, economic relations will accelerate and Turkey will be given the opportunity to fund reconstruction efforts in Gaza.
The deal stopped short of Ankara’s demand that Israel end its blockade of Gaza but it will allow Israel to begin exporting its large supplies of natural gas to Turkey and Europe. Soon after the reconciliation deal was announced in Rome, Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan apologised for the downing of a Russian jet in Syria by the Turkish air force. Mr Erdogan will send his foreign minister to Russia in an effort to resuscitate relations that deteriorated over the Syrian conflict.
What exactly is behind this sudden reconciliatory streak in Turkish foreign policy? Mr Erdogan’s AKP rose to power in the 2000s through a combination of neoliberal economic policy that opened the Turkish economy to investment and a soft-power foreign policy predicated on a “zero problems with neighbours” strategy.
Between the strain on emerging markets and the breakdown of regional order after the Arab Spring protests, Turkey finds itself with few friends and many problems. In 2011, Ankara attempted to carve out a place for itself as a new regional leader by supporting the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, Hamas in Gaza and various rebel groups in Syria. At the same time, Mr Erdogan ramped up his country’s support for Palestine by refusing to reconcile with Israel until it ends its Gaza blockade.
Put simply, Turkey today is isolated and facing an economic crisis and also a bloody war with Kurdish separatists. Mr Erdogan can no longer afford to turn his back on allies who could stimulate economic growth through energy deals and tourism.
As for Turkey’s enthusiastic embrace of the Palestine struggle, this is not the first time that politicians have used Palestine for short-term gain only to drop the cause when it is no longer convenient. We can only hope that the continued plight of Gaza doesn’t disappear from the international discussion as business gets back to normal for Tel Aviv and Ankara.