ISTANBUL – Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday hosts for thesecond time in half a year a summit of the world’s main pan-Islamic groupseeking to show solidarity with the Palestinians and condemn Israel afterits deadly shootings of Gaza protesters.
Erdogan has reacted with unbridled fury to the killing by Israeli forces onMonday of 60 Palestinians on the Gaza border, accusing Israel of “genocide”and being run as an “apartheid state”.
His comments sparked a diplomatic crisis between Turkey and Israel andErdogan has also called a mass demonstration expected to rally hundreds ofthousands of people Friday to protest Israel’s actions towards thePalestinians.
Erdogan has already hosted an extraordinary meeting of the Organisation ofIslamic Cooperation (OIC), in December last year, to denounce US PresidentDonald Trump’s decision to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
He has already vowed that Friday’s summit should send a “strong message tothe world” over Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians.
However, as in the 2017 meeting, disputes between the OIC’s key players –notably between Sunni kingpin Saudi Arabia and Shiite Iran — may preventthe adoption of any measures going beyond harsh rhetoric.
Riyadh — which appears to have softened its stance on Israel as theinfluence of powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has grown — and itsallies fear alienating the United States with tough measures against Israel.
Saudi’s chief foreign policy preoccupation, shared with Israel, is ensuringUS backing to contain Iran which both Riyadh and the Jewish state see asthe main threat to regional peace.——————————
*‘Dragged into chaos’*——————————
After only declaring his intention to hold the event on Monday, Erdogan hasmanaged to build up an impressive guest list at short notice in intensephone diplomacy.
Jordanian King Abdullah II will be present although the Palestinians willbe represented by prime minister Rami Hamdallah and not president MahmudAbbas who this week had surgery on his ear.
From the Gulf, Kuwait’s Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad Al-Sabah is expected asis Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani of Qatar, Turkey’s main regionalally.
As in the November 2017 meeting, a controversial guest will be SudanesePresident Omar al-Bashir, who is wanted on charges of genocide and warcrimes by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Egypt and Saudi Arabia distrust Turkey’s support for Islamist movementslike the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas, complicating any effort to takeconcrete measures against Israel.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and Saudi counterpart Adelal-Jubeir will be at the Istanbul summit. The Saudi level of representationis higher than at the November meeting.
Erdogan has long craved a role as a Muslim leader within the entire Islamicworld, rarely holding back with tirades against Israel even though Ankarahas diplomatic relations with the Jewish state.
“If the silence on Israel’s tyranny continues, the world will rapidly bedragged into a chaos where banditry prevails,” Erdogan said Wednesday.——————————
*‘Stop the oppression’*——————————
Tensions with Israel and hosting such a meeting also does Erdogan no harmwith his core supporters as Turkey heads to presidential and parliamentarypolls on June 24.
In a diplomatic crisis threatening a 2016 deal that allowed the resumptionof full ties, Turkey has ordered the Israeli ambassador to leave for anunspecified period of time.
Turkey had already withdrawn its Tel Aviv ambassador for consultationswhile Israel ordered the Turkish consul in Jerusalem to leave, also for anunspecified period of time.
Erdogan has engaged in a bitter Twitter spat with Israeli premier BenjaminNetanyahu who he accused of having “the blood of Palestinians” on his hands.
The rally expected just before the summit is set to take place at the vastYenikapi meeting area which is favoured by Erdogan for election rallies andhas capacity for a million people.
Erdogan is himself expected to address the rally, which is to be held underthe slogan “stop the oppression”. – APP/AFP