| General note |
This study deals with the Turkish-Palestinian Relations since the arrival of the Turkish Justice and Development Party to power in 2002. The party has given much interest to the Arab-Israeli conflict. The Palestinian Cause has become at the core of the interests of the Turkish foreign policy. Such a development in the Turkish policy toward the Palestinian Cause has been accompanied by much debate in the Arab intellectual and political arena regarding the real incentives behind such a new attitude. In this regard, there have been three main orientations trying to interpret the Turkish policy in its new attitude. The significance of this study lies in explicating the nature of the new Turkish role toward the Palestinian Cause. The study also aims at investigating the main principles based on which the Turkish Justice and Development Party behaves toward the Palestinian Cause. It also examines the new Turkish strategy in dealing with the Arab-Israeli conflict. Further, it examines the contexts within which the new Turkish attitude toward the Palestinian Cause and the Arab region evolves. The study employs the historical approach to comprehend the historical dimension in the thousand-year relation between Turkey and Palestine. It also employs the analytical descriptive approach to identify and grasp the changes that have occurred to the Turkish policy in the past decade. The study's results show that the historical dimension in the Ottoman-Palestinian relations has left a huge impact on the Party's attitude and outlook at such relations. Also, the historical, cultural and religious bonds have been found to be among the most important principles for the Party in its policy toward Palestine. The past decade has witnessed much development in the Turkish official political as well as public stances toward the Palestinian Cause. The study also finds out that the new Turkish policy is not an extension to the West policy; that the Turkish role does not complement the American role in the region; and that it is not just a part of a rival regional race with Iran over the leadership of the region. Rather, the new Turkish policy is a genuine orientation toward the Palestinian Cause and the Arab region. In order for this orientation to become a strategic option, the Turkish policy finds it necessary to end all forms of relations with Israel and turn toward enacting the Arab and Islamic depth to a great extent. The historical strategic Turkish-Israeli alliance had posed a big danger on the Palestinian Cause and the Arab national security. It had also made a dangerous opening for damaging the Islamic world causes as a whole. Therefore, the study recommends ending the Turkish-Israeli relations and eliminating all forms of alliance between them. |