Obama’s only diplomatic achievement in the Middle East has been to make Bibi Netanyahu bow down apologize to the anti-Israeli Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, as reported here yesterday, How do you say “Apologize For What?!” in Hebrew?
Knowing the insane anti-Israeli venom we have seen from Erdogan in the past, it was obvious that he would not be appeased.
And indeed, within a day Erdogan has announced that the apology both was a victory for him and not enough to restore relations between Turkey and Israel. It also was viewed as a sign of Israeli weakness by Hamas, which is cheering the apology.
Via Jerusalem Post:
Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday that despite Israel’s apology over the IDF raid of the 2010 Gaza-bound flotilla, it is still too early to drop the case against IDF generals accused by Ankara of being responsible for the death of nine Turkish activists aboard the Mavi Marmara, Turkish newspaper Today’s Zaman reported.Erdogan said Netanyahu’s apology satisfied Turkish expectations when he used the word “apology” instead of “regret,” but that it was still too soon to fully restore diplomatic ties and appoint new ambassadors, Turkish daily Hurriyet reported….Erdogan also confirmed that he intends to visit Gaza and the West Bank next month. “I may eventually visit Gaza and the West Bank in April. This visit would take place in the context of a general effort to contribute to the resolution process [of the Palestinian issue],” he said….Today’s Zaman quoted Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh as saying that Erdogan and Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal had arranged the Turkish prime minister’s visit to Gaza in a phone conversation in which the Turkish leader had briefed Hamas on the apology from Netanyahu.According to Haniyeh, Erdogan told Mashaal that Netanyahu had promised to “lift the siege on the Palestinian people.”….An official Hamas statement released Friday applauded Erdogan for having won the apology from Netanyahu.Bulent Yildirim, mastermind behind the Gaza flotilla, expressed his pride over Netanyahu’s formal apology to Turkey for the raid, Hurriyet reported on Friday.
What a joke. Who could have been responsible for this diplomatic debacle?
[John] Kerry helped prepare for the phone call, which took place at Ben-Gurion Airport minutes before Obama’s departure Friday. Obama spoke first to Erdogan, then handed the phone to Netanyahu, who apologized for “operational errors” that led to loss of life on the Marmara.
Update: The apology has fed Erdogan’s dreams of a renewed Ottoman Empire:
Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday an Israeli apology for the 2010 deaths of nine Turkish pro-Palestinian activists that was brokered by U.S. President Barack Obama met Turkey’s conditions and signaled its growing regional clout.”We are entering a new period in both Turkey and the region,” said Erdogan, who plans to visit the Palestinian territories, including the Gaza Strip, next month.”We are at the beginning of a process of elevating Turkey to a position so that it will again have a say, initiative and power, as it did in the past.”
CLICK HERE FOR FULL VERSION OF THIS STORY