"Why is Palestine a big deal for Turkish diplomacy?
By Bulent Aras
Commentary by
Monday, February 16, 2009
From a Turkish perspective, Israel could not have committed a worse mistake than attacking Gaza and thereby blocking hopes for peace in the Middle East. Like many observers, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan blamed Israel for the human tragedy in Gaza. This response may not seem extraordinary if one remembers that he criticized Israel in the same way following earlier Israeli aggressions in the Occupied Territories. This time, however, Erdogan stated that the Israeli attack on Gaza, which began four days after Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's visit to Ankara, was "an act of disrespect toward Turkey." "
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