A week after the non-diplomatic confrontation between Turkey and Israel, we can say with confidence that the Turkish government has emerged victorious and increased its popularity inside Turkey and the region, and that the Israeli government has shown its true face as a criminal gang. Danny Ayalon is the deputy of the Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, and was Ariel Sharon's ambassador in Washington. He, like his boss the brothel keeper, is a member of Yisrael Beiteinu, the party of the Russian and Eastern European settlers. With this extremist background in mind, he summoned the Turkish Ambassador Oguz Celikkol to the Foreign Ministry where he sat him on a low chair in front him with a table only displaying the Israeli flag. He then invited television crews and spoke in Hebrew, which the ambassador does not understand, and said: “Pay attention that he is sitting in a lower chair, that there is only an Israeli flag on the table (and no Turkish flag)”. The ambassador was outraged when he learned what had happened, and said that he has never been humiliated in this manner in his entire life. This is diplomacy according to the terrorist state, or “state sponsored terrorism” as the Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan described Israel after the latter's attack on the Gaza strip. The result is that Turkey was outraged, and Ayalon apologized, without Turkey accepting his apology, before he apologized again. Then the Defence Minister Ehud Barak travelled to Turkey as part of a planned visit to remedy the situation, while reports said that Lieberman meant to intentionally thwart Barak's visit. The Israeli foreign ministry was protesting a Turkish television series that shows Israeli soldiers and politicians as killers and criminals. But this is something true and that is widely accepted by the entire world, with the exception of the U.S congress. The result of the meeting was that Israel became in the dock, while Turkey emerged more powerful and self-confident. There is a significant political shift taking place in the Middle East. There were three powerful countries allied with the West, and which were Iran, Turkey and Israel. But the West lost Iran in one day when the Shah was ousted, and it seems to be gradually losing Turkey ever since the victory of the AKP (the Justice and Development Party) in the 2002 elections. Moreover, the hindering of Turkey's accession to the European Union appears to have encouraged its government to turn east, and make gains that would compensate the benefits of joining the European Union. Since last October, Turkey has signed political and economic agreements with Iran, Iraq and Syria, opened its borders with Armenia, offered amnesty to Kurds at home, and established diplomatic ties with the Kurds in northern Iraq. And when the pipeline across Turkey is completed, Europe will be in a position where it needs to appease Turkey, and not vice versa. Furthermore, as I am writing this article, Erdogan is in Riyadh, and the two countries seem to be enjoying excellent relations. Today, the West's old alliances only survive with Israel, the cause of the West's problems with the Arabs and the Muslims. This country only survives by virtue of its theft of the American taxpayers' money, even when the United States is facing a crippling economic crisis. Israel thus provides the excuse for the spread of terrorism in the Middle East and the World, in response to its terrorist policies, and its murder of women and children, and its occupation of the land and its threat to the Aqsa Mosque. While Iran is benefiting from its declared animosity towards Israel, its government is facing many domestic challenges, while neighbouring countries are dealing with Iran with much caution and suspicion because of its old new ambitions in the Gulf and beyond. This is in addition to the fact that Iran violates the sovereignty of many nations by directly dealing with organizations and factions within. While some of these latter are indeed national liberation movements, others are engaged in terrorism against the countries in which they operate. On the other hand, Turkey is a rising power that has broken the chains that had hitherto tied it to the West and restrained its political freedom, without necessarily antagonizing the West, as Iran is doing. Turkey has thus built balanced relations with its neighbouring countries for the benefit of all parties, while at the same time supporting the Palestinians and their cause, which increased Turkey's popularity among the Arab peoples for the first time since the demise of the Ottoman Empire. A year ago, I had left a session in Davos, with Shimon Peres lying, obfuscating and denying Israel's crimes. I stood at the door and heard the Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan sharply rebuking the Israeli liar and then withdrawing. I shall return to Davos this week, and I don't know whether Erdogan will also return. But I know that Turkey has become only more powerful and more self-confident during the last year, and gained more friends among Arabs and Muslims. The West's loss of Turkey is a gain for us. Also, I believe that the failure of the Obama administration in resolving the Palestinian question will lead to a decline in the U.S relations with Egypt and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, especially when bearing in mind the encouraging Turkish example. It is also no secret that the Egyptian and Saudi peoples, almost unanimously, are against Israel. Thus the basis of any dealing with the United States is the Palestinian cause, and the role of the American administration in achieving its stated policy of establishing two independent states, Palestine and Israel, living side by side in peace. If America carries out its promise, then so be it. Otherwise, there is always the Turkish example.
