Turkey Volunteers To Mediate in Israeli-Hamas Conflict
Washington has expressed support for Ankara’s engagement after call between US, Turkish foreign ministers
By Kristina Jovanovski/The Media Line
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has said that his country wants a role in negotiations in the aftermath of Hamas’ attack on Israel on Tuesday. This comes after Ankara has recently improved its ties with Israel after years of fraught relations.
“We are seeking possible ways to mediate. We expect to put an end to this war as soon as possible, restoring peace in the region,” Erdoğan stated on Tuesday, according to his communications office.
After years of tension, Turkey’s relations with Israel have seen recent improvements. Turkey has experience as a mediator, helping host talks between Russia and Ukraine.
Erdoğan held a phone call with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Monday about the crisis and stated that Ankara would do what it could to end it, Erdoğan’s office said. The Turkish president also spoke with Israeli President Isaac Herzog, telling him that Turkey would continue to work to find peace, according to the Turkish state news agency.
“We stand ready for any kind of mediation, including prisoner exchange, if the sides request it,” Erdoğan said on Monday.
Ozgur Ünlühisarcıklı, Ankara director of the German Marshall Fund, told The Media Line that Turkey’s previous connections with Hamas would put Ankara in a good position to help with negotiations.
“I think the chances are good because Turkey is one of the few countries that has a relationship with both Israel and Hamas,” Ünlühisarcıklı said, adding that Ankara is likely seeking prestige from such a position.
During Russia’s war in Ukraine, Turkey was praised by the UN for helping broker an agreement between the two sides that would allow for shipments of grain to be successfully exported from Ukraine’s harbors.
However, Ünlühisarcıklı cautioned that Israel would first need to express a desire to hold talks and accept a role for Turkey to mediate.
“It all depends on when Israel is ready. Turkey genuinely wants to avoid this conflict from escalating and perhaps growing into a regional conflict because that would be very bad for Turkey,” he said.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Sunday and was supportive of a role for Ankara.
“The secretary encouraged Turkey’s continued engagement and highlighted the United States’ unwavering focus on halting the attacks by Hamas and securing the release of all hostages,” said US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller.
Turkey and Israel have recently improved their previously tense ties, with Erdoğan and Netanyahu meeting for the first time on the sidelines of a UN General Assembly meeting in September.
Erdoğan has recently been attempting to warm Turkey’s relations with allies and former foes to try to attract foreign investment, with limited success, as his country’s economy has struggled for years.
While the Turkish president has been a stronger backer of the Palestinian cause, Ankara is hoping that Israel will cooperate on energy and help make Turkey a hub for sending gas to European markets.
After Hamas’ attack on Israel, the Turkish foreign ministry released a statement, encouraging calm to be restored as soon as possible.
“We are always ready to contribute to the best of our ability to ensure that these developments can be taken under control before they escalate further and spread to a wider area,” the statement read.
Gallia Lindenstrauss, a senior research fellow at the Institute for National Security Studies specializing in Turkish foreign policy at Tel Aviv University, believes that Israel would prefer another mediator like Egypt over Turkey.
“While Israel and Egypt also don’t see eye to eye on the situation in Gaza, Egypt is closer to Israel’s position than Turkey with regard to Hamas,” she wrote in a message to The Media Line.
Ankara does not categorize Hamas as a terrorist organization and has hosted leaders from Hamas.
However, Lindenstrauss cautioned it would be too early for talks to be held, aside from negotiations for hostages to be released.
“This is not a round of violence like we have seen in the past between Israel and Hamas. It will likely be lengthy, and it is just the beginning. Because of the human loss Israel has already suffered, the expectation both in Israel and in the region is that Israel will be much more extreme in its response so it is not looking at the moment for constraints that may be put on it by mediation,” Lindenstrauss explained.
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