An increasing number of people are looking at the issue from the perspective of ‘What would happen if Israel went to war with Turkey, a NATO member?’ For example, the British newspaper columnist and left-leaning political activist, Owen Jones, states that Israel views Turkey as a threat to its regional hegemony and has embarked on a path that could ultimately lead to war, adding: “Both NATO and Donald Trump, a friend of Erdoğan, will eventually have to decide whether or not to challenge Israel’s military expansionism.”
Our newspaper’s esteemed columnist and my friend, Tunca Bengin, also believes that the consequences of this decision will be far from positive for Israel, writing: “They’re asking for trouble! The Chiefs of Staff of Israel and Greece are posing for photos together, which they consider a show of strength. Israel is preparing for war with Turkey.”
Betül Soysal Bozdoğan, one of our writer friends, believes that “Israel is biding its time and waiting for the right circumstances… War could break out at any moment.” She points out that, despite Turkey’s constructive and positive foreign policy in the region, should Israel seek to take Turkey to the mat, it will find Turkey standing firm against it, stating, “A wrestler as muscular and agile as Turkey will virtually crush its opponent on the mat like a fly.”
The increase in such comments was triggered by Israel’s attack on Syria on Tuesday. Since President Ahmed al-Shara, himself a native of the Golan and whose country has been under Israeli occupation for 60 years, overthrew the Assad dictatorship and restored unity to the country, Israel has launched new attacks and attempted invasions against Syria. The most recent of these attacks was carried out on the Abu Zuhur airbase near Idlib in north-western Syria, and Israeli authorities stated that the aim was “to prevent Turkey from establishing a presence at this base”. Consequently, attention has shifted to the Israel–Turkey axis.
Syria and Iraq fall within the scope of Turkey’s national objective of a ‘Turkey Free of Terrorism – A Region Free of Terrorism’. This objective envisages the elimination of the PKK and its affiliates, which—since the days of the Soviet Union—have acted as pawns in a conspiracy to alter the region’s stability and map, at times under the influence of one country and at times another, but have never served the interests of the Kurdish people. The aim is for the terrorist organisation to be replaced in these countries by political parties and politicians who represent the genuine interests of the Kurdish people.
The conspiracy we have been referring to envisaged not only the division of Iraq, Iran, Syria and Turkey by exploiting ethnic issues, but also the seizure of territory from these countries in order to realise the vision of a ‘Greater Israel’. Between 1913 and 1915, the Zionists took control of the ‘Palestine Federation’ project, which had been established under the Ottoman Empire with the aim of creating a ‘homeland for the Jews’; as a result, this inhuman ideology, based on racial discrimination and founded on genocide and ethnic cleansing, took hold of the region.
With Gaza and the West Bank remaining of Palestine, and following its expansion into Lebanon, Israel—which has once again attacked Syria—appears to have set its sights on the main major obstacle in its path: Turkey.
International strategist and analyst George Friedman also shares the view that Israel is this time “heading towards a target that could bring about its own downfall”. Friedman writes that Israel has failed to interpret recent developments correctly and predicts that Syria will join the Mecca Pact. According to Friedman, it is only then that Israel will become aware of the Mecca Alliance.
In my view, this alliance will compel Israel to withdraw militarily without resorting to war. Putting an end to military adventurism will ensure that moderate Jewish politicians who advocate ‘coexistence in peace’ prevail over those in Israel who pursue expansionist-Zionist policies. An Israel living in peace with its neighbours will be freed from being a military regime propped up by US military and economic aid, the end of which is now in sight, and will pave the way for the formation of the Palestinian Federation envisaged in 1913 but never realised.
Israel’s current structure is no longer sustainable. There are not only Zionists in Israel; Judaism is not Zionism. Israel cannot serve as a stage for the implementation of Evangelical Christians’ fabricated prophecies about the end of the world.
Source: https://www.milliyet.com.tr/yazarlar/hakki-ocal/israilin-sonu-nasil-olur-7646862
