Daily Sabah columnist Ragıp Soylu has penned an article on Turkey's effective policy on Jerusalem crisis to respond U.S. President Trump's move. He has given details regarding Ankara's diplomatic process to solve the political crisis, which has been caused by Washington's unilateral declaration, in the Middle East.
"...Saudi Arabia and Egypt's low-level opposition to embassy move and Ankara's steps to come up with a quick response to the U.S. have enabled Erdoğan's success. Ankara's pragmatic work with Egypt, which has antagonistic relations with Turkey, also greatly helped during the process." he wrote in his column.
Here is the full text of article written by Ragıp Soylu:
We do not need to delve into the complex chain of historical events, but everyone knows that the Palestinian question has been an Arab-Israeli matter since the 1940s. Arab countries like Egypt and Syria, backed by Saudi Arabia, have gone to war against Israel over Palestine. Moreover, Lebanon, another Arab country, hosts Hezbollah, Tel Aviv's current chief antagonist. Until the recent past, Turkey has been an observer that has diplomatically protested the Israeli government in some instances, but had not done anything concrete until President Tayyip Erdoğan's famous "one-minute" incident with former Israeli President Shimon Peres. Since then, Turkey has been very vocal in its criticism of Tel Aviv.
Not surprisingly, Erdoğan also strongly opposed U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to move the American Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Erdoğan responded to Trump on Dec. 7, one day after the latter's announcement recognizing Jerusalem as Israel's capital. He promised "phone diplomacy" with international actors in response to the "outrageous" decision by Trump and promised a tangible step: As term president, calling the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) for an emergency session.
Within a week, delegations from 48 nations that include 18 heads of state and governments, such as King Abdullah of Jordan, Iranian President Rouhani, Azerbaijani President Aliyev and Palestinian President Abbas, convened in Istanbul. A declaration was quickly issued by the OIC countries, declaring East Jerusalem as the capital of the state of Palestine.
Egypt and Saudi Arabia, two leading players in the Middle East peace process, had foreign minister-level representation in Istanbul. Turkish media were quick to tie this decision with Saudi Arabia and Egypt's recent rapprochement with Israel, backed by the Trump administration. People who know the region better than me say that Saudi Arabia did not turn a blind eye to Trump's Jerusalem move. Yet, Bahrain's foreign minister Khalid al-Khalifa, whose policies are closely aligned with Saudi Arabia, said last week that it was unhelpful to "pick a fight" with the United States over "side issues" such as Jerusalem, while there was a threat from Iran.
Some reports explain Saudi Arabia's reluctance to jump on the Jerusalem bandwagon, such as their extensive involvement in Trump's senior adviser Jared Kushner-led peace plan for Palestine. There is chatter in Washington that the plan has been ready, and this is partly why Trump decided to take the Jerusalem step.
In any circumstances, Egypt and Saudi Arabia's low-key opposition to the Jerusalem move enabled Turkey's lead on the issue. When the two largest Arab countries in the Middle East who are historically associated with the Palestine question stayed silent, Erdoğan took the matter into his hands and played it very well.
After convening the summit, he took further concrete steps backed by the international community, but more important than that he was willing to put differences aside with countries such as Egypt to get results. Turkey closely worked with Egypt in the UN Security Council to bring up a resolution that re-affirms Jerusalem's legal status and preserves the status quo. Major powers such as China, Britain, Russia, and France supported the initiative since the statement did not specifically mention the United States. Washington vetoed the resolution as expected, but Ankara then went to Plan B, which called on the UN General Assembly for an emergency session.
Turkey as the term president of the OIC and Yemen as the representative of the Arab Group led the session. Ultimately, a resolution in favor of the Palestinians isolated the United States and Israel, showing that almost the whole world believes the embassy move was inappropriate and premature.
Saudi Arabia and Egypt's low-level opposition to embassy move and Ankara's steps to come up with a quick response to the U.S. have enabled Erdoğan's success. Ankara's pragmatic work with Egypt, which has antagonistic relations with Turkey, also greatly helped during the process.
