The Palestinian cause needs an active Turkish government

We have to be optimistic that the Arab Spring uprooted tyranny in at least some countries, and while the Palestinians are being criticised for showing their joy at the results of the Turkish municipal elections, it is enough for us that the Zionist media described the Turkish vote as a “disaster” for Israel.

The science of politics is complex and there are no political entities which are isolated from their surroundings; every single one has its own existence, ideas, policies and alliances that are determined after a thorough study of the geopolitical map in its region.

Hamas, like every other political force in the Middle East and around the world, has the right to keep track of the variables and developments that concern it and affect the Palestinian cause. The closeness of these variables to the cause is the barometer that Hamas uses to measure the dimensions of its international and regional relations.

We were interested in and followed up the progress of the municipal elections in Turkey, and we were pleased when the Turkish people decided to give their trust and confidence to the Justice and Development Party.

Hamas is concerned about events in a major country like Turkey because it is an honourable model of a civilised state that has been able to combine its history with the needs of modernity; the considerations of the current phase and its humanitarian role; and Turkey’s political interests and support for the oppressed, regardless of who they are, while rejecting oppression committed by any and all parties.

We care about Turkey because it is a major country that has its regional status but keeps its balanced foreign policies completely independent. All political entities want to get close to Turkey and, of course, Hamas, as a resistance movement, needs everyone’s support in advocating our cause and standing up to the Zionist occupation. The Zionists, it should be remembered, have violated many humanitarian, legal and international laws during the 66 years of their occupation of our land.

Our movement needs to support noble people like the Turks and their state which views our cause as a struggle against injustice. Turkey sees the reality of our situation very clearly and deals with us as an oppressed people against whom the worst forms of occupation and racists crimes are committed. The government in Ankara treats our struggle as a central cause that may not be extorted or exploited.

With all of these interactions, how can any Palestinian political force overlook or ignore the role of Turkey?

Turkey’s government and people have taken positions that have had a major impact on the hearts of the Palestinians at home and abroad. In this they have mirrored the actions of their ancestors in defence of Palestine.

For generations we have read about Sultan Abdul Hamid II’s historic stand on preserving the Palestinian territories and preventing mass Jewish immigration between 1882 and 1903. “I cannot give away a handful of the soil of this land for it is not my own, it is for all the Islamic nation,” said the sultan famously, “the Islamic nation that fought jihad for the sake of this land and watered it with its blood.” The sultan took other stances that make the Palestinians feel proud and honoured, as do the positions taken by Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party with regards to the issues and events of the Islamic nation in general, particularly the Palestinian cause, since it came to power. All such noble positions are linked and those which began with Sultan Abdul Hamid II will not end with those of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Although Turkey experienced a period of cooperation with the Zionist occupation, it did not reflect the nature of the noble Turkish people who consider the Palestinians as their brothers in faith who face crimes and liquidation at the hands of the Zionist war machine. They believe it is their duty to stand by the Palestinians and support their steadfastness; the same people who gave their support to the Justice and Development Party project in 2002 and in the recent municipal elections will continue to be supportive of the Palestinian people and their cause.

It is this cause and its implications which has formed Turkish foreign policy towards the Zionist occupation; the more stubborn and arrogant the Zionists are against the Palestinians, the stricter that Turkey’s positions are against the occupation. Turkish officials have stood firm in the face of Zionist arrogance, refraining – in a diplomatic manner from accepting repeated invitations from the Israeli leadership and directing angry condemnations of Israel’s ongoing aggression against the Palestinian people, their land and sanctities. This includes condemnation of the unjust siege imposed on our people in the Gaza Strip.

Turkey also took a political decision to prevent the Israeli Occupation Force from participating in the “Anatolian Eagle” air force exercise hosted by Turkey in 2009, following Israel’s invasion of Gaza. We have not forgotten the heroic position taken by the Turkish prime minister in Davos and his response to Israeli President Shimon Peres.

Furthermore, the Turkish martyrs killed by the Israelis on board the Gaza Freedom Flotilla will remain forever a source of pride for us, the resistance and the Palestinian people. They sought to break the blockade imposed on the Gaza Strip and paid for it with their lives; how can we forget that? We will remain faithful to Turkey, its people and its martyrs.

A spring for the Palestinian cause

With regard to the results of the recent municipal elections, which indicated great support for the Justice and Development Party, I’d like to clarify a few points. We are pleased with the results of the elections, not because we are with one side against the other, but because we witnessed an honourable democratic experience and a free popular choice, and we support this as a matter of principle.

As a Palestinian resistance movement our enemy is the Zionist occupation, and we do not hide our satisfaction over any international position that deters the Israelis and advocates the rights of the Palestinian people. Many such positions have been taken under the two successive Justice and Development Party governments led by Prime Minister Erdogan.

We in Palestine were happy that the Turkish public supported the political leadership that supports the Palestinian cause and has stood by our people and against the oppressor, providing all forms of assistance and support to break the siege on Gaza. The people of Turkey have also announced their rejection of the Judaisation of Jerusalem and the desecration of Al-Aqsa Mosque.

While we applaud our Turkish brothers for their democratic ways and free choice, we look forward to an even greater official role and popular protection of our just cause. The people of Palestine and their cause are in dire need of an effective and pivotal role to be played by the Republic of Turkey led by the Justice and Development Party and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Translated from Al Jazeera Net, 16 April, 2014

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.