In a move described by observers as “disappointing”, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan received, yesterday, Wednesday, at his palace in the capital, Ankara, Israeli President Isaac Herzog, in the first visit of its kind in 14 years.
The two presidents welcomed the “transformation” of relations between the two countries after severe tension over the past ten years, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that his country seeks to raise the total trade exchange with Israel to 10 billion dollars.
Palestinians warned of the danger of Israeli moves in the region, especially after the Turkish reception, after Ankara opposed Arab normalization with Israel, stressing that Tel Aviv was able to succeed in being a key player in the economic interests of the Middle East.
Historic visit
Erdogan made it clear that Turkey aims to revive political relations with Israel on the basis of common interests, and expressed his readiness to cooperate in the energy field.
Erdogan’s statements came during a press conference with his Israeli counterpart, Isaac Herzog, in which he stressed that Ankara wants to raise the total trade exchange with Tel Aviv to 10 billion dollars.
The Turkish president added: “The future will be full of opportunities that allow the development of relations between the two sides, and our foreign minister will go to Israel and Palestine, and this is an important visit.”
For his part, the Israeli president clarified that “the relations between the two countries are now witnessing a development, and derive their strength from the past, and have the roots of a truth striking in history. The relations have recently gone through a period of lukewarmness, but now we will reconsider it, and we will face international challenges side by side.”
Before leaving Tel Aviv for Ankara, Herzog said that Israeli-Turkish relations are important to both parties and the entire region, and the relationship between his country and Turkey has witnessed not simple fluctuations in the past years, and there may not be agreement on all issues between the two sides, but work should be done to resume relations. Thoughtfully and cautiously with mutual respect between countries.
Herzog opened a channel of communication with Erdogan, immediately after assuming the position of the Israeli president. He spoke with his Turkish counterpart four times over the phone. The first time, Herzog received a call from Erdogan, who congratulated him on his election to the position. The second time, they spoke in the wake of the arrest of an Israeli couple and Turkey’s suspicion of being spies, while on the third time Erdogan had a conversation with Herzog to offer his condolences on the death of his mother.
For his part, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett called Erdogan to thank him for his efforts in releasing the Israeli couple, the first conversation between an Israeli prime minister and a Turkish president since 2013.
Disappointing celebration
Zaid Al-Ayoubi, a Palestinian political analyst and a leader in the “Fatah” movement, considered that “the visit of the Israeli president to Turkey and the warm reception by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan represent a major betrayal of Jerusalem and a stab in the back of Palestine.”
According to his speech to “Sputnik”, “the warm welcome of the Turkish reception disappointed the hopes of the Palestinians, who were convinced through this visit that Erdogan is trading in the Palestinian cause and the suffering of the Palestinians, and he is among those who pave the way for Israel’s ambitions.”
He continued, “Erdogan deceived the Palestinians with his emotional popular discourse, and its content, which has always defended Jerusalem and rejected the occupation, also objected and criticized the normalization of Arab countries with Israel, but he demonstrated through this reception the extent of deception he practiced on the Palestinians, regarding his relationship with Israel and Palestine.”
He added, “The Palestinian people will not forget this disappointing position by Turkish President Erdogan, because he knew very well from his enemy and his friend,” according to him.
economic interests
In turn, the Palestinian writer and political analyst, Misbah Abu Karsh, said that “Turkey was the first Muslim-majority country to recognize Israel in March of 1949, and they were brought together by high-level military, strategic and diplomatic cooperation, and everything related to their common fears of regional instability in the East.” Middle”.
According to his statement to “Sputnik”, “Turkish-Israeli relations have passed since 1996 (the date of signing a strategic partnership that allows its air forces to exchange training in this field), and until today, many stations witnessed many tides, especially during the era of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, but these relations have never reached a state of complete estrangement.”
Abu Karsh believes that “the recent visit to Turkey by Isaac Herzog, the first since 2007, confirmed that the economic interests of the countries of the Middle East have become closely linked to Israel, an aspect in which the latter focused on being an advanced and influential player in addition to the media, and it has succeeded in this in a way It has gone beyond the borders of the Middle East to become global, and in ways that some are still unable to imagine the extent of its impact in this world.”
He pointed out that “normalization with Israel is a betrayal of the just Palestinian cause, and there are no two sides to explain and justify the reasons for the occurrence of such major crimes that negatively affect the Palestinian cause, especially when they are carried out by Islamic and Arab countries that are supposed to have a sacred cause that is violated in Palestine.”
The visit of Israeli President Isaac Herzog to Ankara is significant as it is the first by a high-ranking Israeli official since 2008.