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Turkey, united in its reaction to last week´s events when Turkish citizens on a Gaza-bound ship were killed by Israeli defense forces, is dividing over the government´s handling of the affair and the role of the Islamist charity that organized the aid convoy.
Opposition politicians and some newspaper columnists have expressed concern that the government has been riding public anger at Israel´s actions. That, they say, puts at risk Turkey´s delicate balance between East and West and allows the charity, the Humanitarian Relief Foundation, or IHH, to have a hand in determining the nation´s political agenda.
"The [European Union] and the U.S. consider Hamas as a terrorist organization. We should be careful," Kemal Kilicdaroglu, head of the main opposition Republican People´s Party, told Turkish NTV television Monday, referring to the support the IHH and Turkey´s government have shown to Hamas. He also demanded the government release communications with Israel prior to the incident, suggesting it let the flotilla proceed despite knowing that violence was likely.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan dismissed Mr. Kilicdaroglu as an Israeli "advocate," in remarks to reporters over the weekend. The government denies it is shifting away from the West and says it sought to persuade the IHH against taking the convoy to Gaza, but was unable to stop an independent organization.
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On Sunday, Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel had evidence that dozens of the activists on the Marmara "boarded separately in a different city, organized separately, equipped [themselves] separately and went on deck under different procedures. In effect, they underwent no checks. The clear intent of this hostile group was to initiate a violent clash with IDF soldiers." Mr. Netanyahu offered no evidence.
Asked about those claims at a joint news conference with Syria President Bashar al-Assad Monday, Mr. Erdogan said of Israel: "They lie like a lie-making machine, they always do it." He also described Hamas as "resistance fighters," and said Hamas, which rules Gaza, had agreed for Ankara to mediate in talks with its rival Fatah, which runs the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank. Mr. Assad was in Istanbul for a Eurasian summit that starts Tuesday. Iran President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Russia Prime Minister Vladimir Putin are also due to attend.
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For the full article, see http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704749904575292780934163298.html?KEYWORDS=turkey
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