After decades of tension, Turkey and Israel are moving towards a “turning point” in their relationship. The two countries recently announced that they plan to embark upon a joint plan to strengthen their diplomatic relations, open their trade relationship, and co-develop renewable energy infrastructures.
Both Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and Israel President Isaac Herzog maintain a highly optimistic outlook for the future of their countries’ relations. In a statement on the subject of President Herzog’s visit to Turkey, which was the first visit to the country made by an Israeli President since 2007, President Erdogan said, “Our common goal is to revitalize political dialogue between our countries based on our common interests and respect for mutual sensitivities.” Erdogan also called the visit a “Very important moment” for the two countries to “Lay the foundations of developing friendly relations…and build bridges essential to us all.” Similarly, President Herzog emphasized that strengthening multilateral Middle East relations is vital, with the future of relations between Israel and Turkey being just one example. “Especially in days like these, we want to project that we’re heading in a different direction,” said Herzog. According to Herzog, both countries view bettering relations as an “Opportunity to revive previous cooperation in energy.
The relationship between the two countries in the two previous decades has been nowhere near as positive as it has come to be this recent month. Throughout Turkey, there is a high pro-Palestinian sentiment and backing. Turkish leadership maintains known connections to the governing body of the Gaza Strip, Hamas. Given the highly explosive nature of Israel-Palestinian relationships, this has been the primary cause of tension between Israel and Turkey. In 2010, these simmering tensions came to a boil when Israeli soldiers killed 10 Turkish activists during their raid of the Gaza strip. Since then, Turkey has cut off almost all relations with Israel and, in 2018, withdrew its diplomatic entities entirely. While Turkey is now willing to re-open economic and strategic connections with Israel, most likely due to its declining financial state, the state remains emphatic about a two-state resolution for the conflict and keeping empathy for Palestinian refugees. Perhaps Turkey and Israel’s economic cooperation will pave the way for more diplomatic discussion and ideological exchange. Moreover, the collaboration offers hopes for more diplomatic communication between Palestine and Israel, with Turkey acting as an arbitrator.
Overall, the increasing openness of both countries towards multilateral relations may act as a spearhead toward a new era for pan-Middle East ties. Given the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the U.S.’s subsequent refocus from the Middle East towards Russia and China, many Middle Eastern states are looking towards alternatives to the United States’ aid in terms of bettering their economy and strategic position, as well as overall political stability. It is reasonable to predict that these alternatives will most likely come in the form of increasing regional ties.
