Turkish President Says Future of Arab Spring Depends on Middle East Peace Agreement

Turkish President Abdullah Gul, in a New York Times op-ed, argued that a comprehensive agreement between Israel and the Palestinian authority is necessary for regional security and democratic consolidation in the wake of the Arab Spring. Gul’s presumes that a reliable peace and stable regional democracies are complimentary, given that the “plight of the Palestinians has been a root cause of unrest and conflict in the region and is being used as a pretext for extremism in other corners of the world;” and because “[h]istory has repeatedly shown that a true, fair and lasting peace can only be made between peoples, not ruling elites.” The hypothesis linking the the Palestinian question with stability in a post-revolutionary Middle East has been rejected by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, though supported by German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Gul proposed that Turkey “facilitate” negotiations between Palestinians and Israelis while conceding the chief mediating role to the United States. He toted Turkey’s mediation credentials while implicitly acknowledging the recent cooling in Turkish-Israeli relations, “Turkey’s track record in the years before Israel’s Gaza operation in December 2008 bears testimony to our dedication to achieving peace.” He acknowledged Turkey’s own stake in regional peace and stability in its eagerness to facilitate negotiations. Turkey’s geo-political interests in the region were underscored in an Al Hayat op-ed which described Syria as pulled between the influences of Anakara and Tehran.