Erdogan poses as Muslim World Leader but NEVER cared before about Gaza, denies Armenian genocide, boasts genocidal ethnic cleansing in Syria.
from thefreeonline on 17th May 2024 by Rise Up 4 Rojava
Turkey’s deception: Ankara’s role in the Palestinian genocide
The genocide committed by Israel against the Palestinian people, which has entered an even more horrific phase after the Hamas attacks of October 7, has been loudly condemned by Erdogan and other members of the AKP-MHP regime that rules Turkey.
In recent days the Erdogan regime has taken more concrete steps, such as banning the export of Turkish exports to Israel and announcing that it will join South Africa’s lawsuit against Israel at the International Court of Justice.
Turkish police tear gas pro-Palestinian protesters at air base used by US forces
As much as Turkey has expressed solidarity with the Palestinians, as much as Erdogan has presented himself as the leader of the Muslim world and champion of the Palestinians, one has to wonder what is driving the increasingly complicated relations between Turkey and Israel and Turkey and the Palestinians.
Historical context of Turkish Israel relationships
The close relationship between Israel and Turkish state has its roots in the very first years of the creation of Israel. Turkey was the first state in the middle east to recognize Israel, in 1949. Since then, strategical relationship between the two have lasted until today.
Letting Turkey Join ICJ Gaza Genocide Case Undermines South Africa’s .Genocide Allegations Are Not a Political Football Why Turkey’s application to join South Africa’s ICJ case trivializes the charges against Israel… The Turkish state has little credibility being an arbiter of what constitutes genocide when it has spent the last 100 years denying the role of the Ottoman Empire in the 1915-16 Armenian genocide, during which more than 1 million Armenians were killed or died of starvation or disease,
In the frame of its “periphery doctrine” Israel has sought since its foundation to develop alliances with Turkey, among other to counter Pan-Arabism. Important military partnerships that include air, sea land and intelligence cooperation, manufacturing of aircraft, armament and missiles, mutual training and exercise have been developed over the years.
Remarkably, Israeli air force pilots have been training in Turkey in the frame of joint exercises with Turkish forces.
Few people even know hundreds of thousands of expelled Kurds are still trapped in squalid camps due to Erdogan’s ongoing ecocidal ethnic cleansing in Afrin and the ‘Peace Strip’. The West gives impunity to Erdogan who blackmails the EU and Russia… .. July 2022 .. NATO okays Turkish genocide of 170K trapped Afrin refugees in Tell Rifaat/Shebha enclave.. Aerial photo – a camp in Al-Shehba, the largest displaced camps in northern Aleppo countryside … .”Why Why Why? The 2nd biggest NATO army starts artillery and deploys with its jihadi mercenaries to invade and ‘Turkify’ 5 big refugee camps of families it already expelled from Afrin. Families who survive constant blockades, drone and Artillery attacks”.
Despite superficial frictions, notably following the Mavi Marmara case which damaged a certain level of diplomatic ties, the relation between the states never ceased and economical exchanges further developed even during peak of rhetorical clashes.
The different NATO bases in Turkey have been vastly important for western imperialism in middle east, initially against the Soviet Union, then later for intervention post September 11 in the frame of the so called “war on terror”. Among those bases, the Incerlik NATO military base has been reported to be used to support Israeli military in it’s current invasion of Gaza.
While Turkey presents itself as a defender of the Palestinians, especially through the rhetoric of Erdogan, it is revealing to note that Turkey stands as the sixth largest supplier of goods to Israel. Notably, 37% of Israel’s demand for Iron and Steel is met through imports from Turkey (2022)1.
Turkish trade with Israel continues despite genocide
Since the beginning of the war in October until December, 700 Turkish ships went to Israel (8 per day!) to transport crucial material for the war (oil, steel, textile). Many of the companies involved have close to ties to the AKP and Erdogan2.
Despite genocide unfolding in Gaza, Turkey continued to supplied materials that may be directly used for the atrocities against the Palestinians in Gaza3. Moreover construction materials such as cement, steel, and machinery exported from Turkey might be used in building projects, including those in occupied areas.
These materials find application in various construction projects, including infrastructure supporting settlements and the construction of the separation barrier, commonly known as the wall.
When Turkey restricted exports from Turkey to Israel for the first time in April, more than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed, 2.3 million people were displaced and large parts of the Gaza Strip were reduced to rubble.
Una nueva cara del Genocidio que sigue: Asentamientos Ilegales en Afrin, (Syria ocupado por Turquia)
The total export ban announced by Erdogan on May 3 also does not appear to have been fully implemented until this day4. When this practice was uncoverd through journalistic investigations, the Turkish Ministry of Trade rowed back and introduced a three-month phase-out period for trade with Israel. Oil from Azerbaijan, Israel’s main supplier of crude oil (40% of Israels oil supply depends on Azerbaijan5), is apparently also still being shipped through a Turkish port in Ceyhan6.
Steps such as the recently announced export ban and the announcement to join the proceedings against Israel before the ICJ are not being done out of goodwill.
Due to domestic political pressure from Islamist parties and movements inside Turkey, which accuse the Erdogan government of inaction and were thus able to snatch votes from the AKP in the regional elections in March forced Erdogan to act. This also becomes clear when looking at the brutal crackdown on protests against trade relations with Israel.
Turkey’s support for Hamas: Isolating Gaza
While Turkey maintains close economic ties with Israel and benefits from Israeli war technology tested in Gaza, Turkey maintains tight relations with Hamas. Until October 2023, many Hamas officials and high-ranking leaders were in exile in Turkey and Qatar.
It was only after the Hamas attacks on October 7 that they were expelled from the country for fear of damaging Turkish-Israeli relations7. Hamas, which, like other Islamist movements, was also supported by the Israeli state in its early days8 in order to weaken Palestinian unity and marginalize socialist movements in Palestine, received political support from Turkey.
With its support, Turkey has indirectly supported the Israeli strategy of isolating the Palestinians in Gaza from the Palestinians in the West Bank.
Erdogan, who recently announced at a press conference in Greece that more than 1,000 Hamas members are being treated in Turkish hospitals, has always used the Palestinian issue as a means of presenting himself as a mediator – as in the case of the Ukraine war – and maintaining the image of an important player in the region.
Expose the Turkish AKP-MHP regime
In shedding light on Turkish hypocrisy surrounding the Genocide in Gaza, it becomes evident that Erdogan’s maneuvers are nothing short of a facade. Turkey’s actions, on the surface seem to be in support of Palestine, but are overshadowed by its complicity in fueling the very oppression it claims to oppose.
3rd July 22.. Gathering for a Nato backed genocide: Turkish-paid SNA jihadi militias line up military forces near Syria’s Tal Rifaat for a new NATO backed War Crime against 170,000 trapped revolutionary refugees. https://www.kurdistan24.net/en/story/28853-Turkish-backed-groups-parade-military-forces-near-Syria%27s-Tal-
Erdogan’s attempts to paint himself as a champion of Palestinian rights ring hollow when viewed through the lens of Turkey’s strategic alliances and economic interests. It’s imperative that we unveil this hypocrisy and hold the AKP-MHP regime accountable for their opportunistic posturing. Turkish fascism, in the form of the AKP regime, does not offer any solutions. Neither for Palestine nor for the Middle East.
The regime’s rhetoric in relation to Israel is both mere rhetoric and hypocrisy: While Turkey publicly blasts Israel for attacks on civilians, Turkish fighter jets and drones systematically destroyed civilian infrastructure in Rojava, North-East Syria in December and January10.
By exposing Erdogan’s hypocrisy, we can empower progressive voices to confront Turkish fascism and stand in solidarity with the genuine aspirations of the Palestinian people and the people of Rojava.
Riseup4Rojava Network, 16.05.2024
1 https://oec.world/en
2 https://www.turkishminute.com/2024/02/28/more-than-100-ton-of-good-shipped-israel-from-turkish-ports-in-last-3-days-alone-journalist/
3 https://x.com/snarwani/status/1775525493627879678
4 https://medyanews.net/turkey-bypasses-total-trade-ban-with-israel-facilitates-azerbaijani-oil-shipments-via-ceyhan/
5 https://oec.world/en/profile/bilateral-product/crude-petroleum/reporter/isr
6 https://www.intellinews.com/turkey-reportedly-still-loading-azerbaijani-oil-for-israel-despite-total-trade-ban-323947/
7 https://archive.ph/FlkK6
8 https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB123275572295011847
https://archive.ph/rwKYm#selection-1159.0-1159.313
9 https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2024/05/erdogan-rebukes-greek-pm-calling-hamas-terrorists-says-1000-members-being-treated
10 https://rojavainformationcenter.org/2023/12/update-turkeys-christmas-airstrikes-targeting-nes-civilian-service-facilities-and-infrastructure/
https://rojavainformationcenter.org/2024/01/turkish-airstrikes-on-suwaydiyah-power-station-documenting-the-damage/
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The Free 
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