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E. Glaubach: The Gaza Flotilla
Written by Dr. Eliezer Glaubach-Gal
Monday, May 10, 2010
Commentary on the flotilla of aid boats seeking to land in Gaza
The Gaza Flotilla is about Erdogan vis-a-vis Ahmadinejad! It is not about the blockade of Gaza.
Let’s not be too naïve. Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Turkish Prime Minister, is struggling to revive the Ottoman Empire that lasted for about 600 years, spanning three continents as an imperial monarchy with its Ottoman Sultan and Caliphate.
The Turkish nation is basically Muslim; the majority are of the Sunni branch of Islam, while the minority are of the Shi’a branch, which is the largest non-Sunni branch of Islam.
As for the Iranians, they are mostly Muslims, with 90 percent belonging to the Shi’a branch of Islam. The population of Gaza is of the Arabic Sunni branch.
Out of one and a half billion Muslims, only 20 percent are Arabs. The Turkish and Iranian people are not Arabic. Egypt, Syria, and Jordan, which are ethnically Arab, have mainly Sunni populations. Lebanon has Christians, Sunni, and Hezbollah Shi'ites.
Iran under the leadership of the Ayatollahs and Ahmadinejad managed to penetrate the Middle East, mainly Syria and Gaza, and with a stronghold in southern Lebanon - the Hezbollah. Iran is an important financial resource for each of them and so consequently has a strong political impact, and a good chance to spread their Iranian influence over the whole Middle East.
It seems that the Gaza situation suits and serves the intentions of the Turkish Prime Minister to combat Iranian power in the Middle East and to build a Turkish foundation.
There are a number of signs that there is a kind of competition between Mr. Erdogan and Mr. Ahmadinejad as to who can gain the most political influence in, and beyond, the Middle East area. The most current one being that Ahmadinejad announced that he is willing to send war ships to defend the upcoming flotilla to Gaza, and closely following this Erdogan said that he himself may join such a flotilla to enter Gaza.
Thus the issue is not really the humanitarian aid to Gaza, especially since Israel is supplying the needs there.
The issue of establishing two states, a Palestinian state alongside Israel, may obviously become true when the West Bank unites with Gaza. The peace accord between Israel and Palestine is a very tangible possibility because the tools and understanding of most of the issues are already there.
But as we witness the international political powers, including the USA and the European Union and their delegates, trying their best, it seems, unfortunately, that they are still staggering, causing delays in the process.
In the meantime, all that remains is for both sides to suffer, struggle, and try to manage the reality hoping the best for their nations.