Gazans irritated as Obama's BFF, NATO 'Ally' Turkey focuses only on Hamas.

Gazans irritated as Obama's BFF, NATO 'Ally' Turkey focuses only on Hamas. (AM).

We are on the 10th floor of a building from which we could see the border with Israel in the east and the Mediterranean in the west. Talking with Zulfikar Shiverjo, the Gaza leader of the PFLP, about the cease-fire initiatives to end the clashes between Israelis and Palestinians, I asked about the role of Turkey.

He replied, “Turkey has no other role than to persuade Hamas to accept the American and Israeli demands.” When I reminded him that Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan was one of the most vocal world leaders about Gaza, he interrupted me, saying, ”He is a liar.” He went on to explain his harsh reasoning:

“Turkey is trying to create a sphere of influence for itself. It is using the Middle East as a card to show the EU that Turkey has an alternative. If Turkey ever becomes a full EU member, it will forget the Palestinian issue. 

Turkey always had close political, military and economic ties with Israel. Its trade with Israel grew four-fold ever since the Davos episode [when Erdogan denounced then-Israeli President Shimon Peres and walked off the stage].

The Erdogan government is using Gaza for its own interests. The Palestine policies of Iran and Turkey are alike. They are exploiting Hamas to boost their own standing in the region. If Iran solves its nuclear crisis with the West, it will push Palestine to the back burner.”

These stinging remarks might confuse those who look at Turkey from Hamas’ perspective. According Shiverjo, Turkish and Qatari support for Hamas helped perpetuate the political division of Palestine. He said, “That policy has worked for the past seven years. With Hamas in Gaza and Fatah in the West Bank, Palestinian political unity has been split.”

Turkey is not sincere about Palestine. If it had been sincere, its commercial and military ties with Israel would not have boomed.”

Another speaker contributed, "It is as if Erdogan is not supporting Palestine because it is Palestine, but because of the Muslim Brotherhood.”

A leftist activist added, "Turkey is treating us as if we are all Hamas. Naturally, for me, despite its past mistakes and its efforts to impose its lifestyle on all of us, Hamas is a resistance organization that is fighting for all of us, for the liberation of Palestine. Turkey has to approach Palestine as a whole."Hmmmm.....It's high time that the west realizes they are dealing with a new Islamist dictator, worse then any predecessor.Read the full story here.