By Nikos Tsinakis 

In recent events following president Donald Trump’s decision to formally recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, Muslim nations around the world headed by Turkey took their protest to the international community. As a result of this diplomatic spat between the Jewish state and Ankara, Yair Netanyahu- Son of the Israeli Prime Minister, with a long history of making controversial social media posts, shared  an image on Instagram that portrayed an edited Turkish flag that clearly displays the words: “F*ck Turkey”

TURKEY-POLITICS
Background: Turkey has been protesting against Trump’s decision and Israel’s use of deadly force against Palestinian protesters

Jerusalem Post:

Turkey has been among the most vocal critics of the Israeli use of deadly force against protesters at the Gaza border and of the U.S. decision to open its new embassy in Jerusalem. It called for an emergency meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Istanbul on Friday.

Speaking at a dinner on the first day of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, Erdogan said the majority of the international community had failed to react to the events in Gaza, and warned that remaining silent would mean “opening a very dangerous door.”

“In the face of all these events, the United Nations has ended. (It has) become exhausted and collapsed,” Erdogan said. “If Israel’s bullying is met with more silence, the world will rapidly be dragged into a chaos where thuggery prevails.”


Turkey and Israel now experience an unprecedented level of intense diplomatic tension with Erdogan describing the events on the 16th of this month as an act of genocide and that “Turkey would stand by Palestine no matter the cost”
His words were put into action after summoning Ambassador Eitan Naveh and told him it would be “appropriate” for him to return to Israel.

Israel retaliated against these actions by expelling the Turkish consul-general in Jerusalem and, on Wednesday, summoned the country’s deputy ambassador in Tel Aviv for a dressing down.

More than 60 Palestinians were killed and more than 2700 were injured during the organized protest near an Israel border fence on Wednesday.

Such a proactive stance taken by Turkey was rather unexpected as the relationship of two countries have been improving since 2016 as well as the country rarely presented itself as the leader of the Muslim world in the past due to its attempt to appeal to the EU as a secular nation.

A dangerous catalyst

There’s a real possibility that this war of words will escalate beyond the realms of diplomacy and economic matter. Israel’s actions have already pushed Turkey and Iran closer; the two were historical rivals with their majority populations following different sects of Islam, Sunni, and Shia respectively. Should an Alliance between these two major Muslim powers form, it could have the potential to seriously damage the interests of Israel.

Reuters:

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani told his Turkish counterpart Tayyip Erdogan in a phone call on Wednesday that U.S. President Donald Trump’s regional policies were “miscalculated”, and should be condemned by Muslim countries.

“Muslim countries should condemn U.S. and Israeli actions with a united voice,” Rouhani was quoted as saying by Tasnim news agency

One thing is clear: The United States and West European countries must not intervene should any armed conflicts occur, it’s time for the middle east to solve their own problems. America First. No more pointless wars for so called “great allies” that’ll result in nothing but wasted American blood and dollars.