Turkish President Calls for United Islamic Front against Israel

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan gave an address on Saturday in which he called for Muslim countries and groups to gang up on Israel, alleging that there is what he described as a "growing threat of expansionism" from Israel. The address was made in the context of announcing that a Turkish-American woman, Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, had died while protesting against Israel in the vicinity of Nablus on Friday. The circumstances surrounding her death are disputed and Israel is investigating, but Palestinian sources are accusing Israeli security forces of killing her in cold blood and that accusation is being taken at face value by Turkey, while her parents are calling for an independent investigation.

In any case, Erdogan appears to be trying to use the incident to rally support for his long-held ambitions to lead the Moslem world in a wide-ranging campaign against Israel.

"The only step that will stop Israeli arrogance, Israeli banditry, and Israeli state terrorism is the alliance of Islamic countries," Erdogan said. He added that he has taken steps to improve relations with Egypt and Syria in order to form "a line of solidarity against the growing threat of expansionism," by Israel. According to Erdogan's narrative, Israel is fighting in Gaza with the goal of annexing this territory for itself. But that's just the first step in a plan to conquer other territories including all of what is now Lebanon, Syria, and the Tigres and Euphrates Valley of central Iraq, as well as parts of Turkey itself, and possibly other countries in the region.

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz responded to these statements by saying that "Erdogan continues to throw the Turkish people into the fire of hatred and violence for his friends from Hamas. Today, he calls on the Islamic countries to form an alliance against the State of Israel. This is incitement.

"Israel defends its borders and its citizens against the murderers of Hamas and the Shiite axis of evil led by Iran. Erdogan and the Muslim Brotherhood have been working together with Iran for years to stamp out the moderate Arab regimes in the Middle East. It is better for Erdogan to shut up and be ashamed."

Dr. Hay Eytan Cohen Yanarocak, an expert on Turkey who works as a researcher at the Dayan Center think tank at Tel Aviv University, spoke with Israeli media on Sunday regarding Erdogan's remarks.

"For several years now, Erdogan has emphasized the importance of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC)," Yanarocak said. "It’s no secret that they want to make this organization more influential. Their vision primarily focuses on joint decision-making by the entire Muslim world, aimed at implementing a united agenda. Of course, Erdogan consistently uses Gaza as an issue that should be addressed. This doesn’t surprise me at all."

"With all due respect, and there is respect, there are very deep divisions within the Muslim world. We know well that the OIC typically makes symbolic decisions, and each Muslim country has different interests. For example, Saudi Arabia and the UAE have different interests from Iran or Pakistan. Turkey also has its own foreign policy and wants to use the OIC to increase the political pressure it desires. I don’t think this is feasible because Muslim nations don’t view things from the same perspective."

"The shooting of the Turkish civilian in Nablus is significant because she had American citizenship, and she was born in Turkey, so she’s also Turkish. Erdogan is using this incident in his speech to rally against the IDF. It’s just more fuel for the fire."