Turkey keen to see consensus response

By Andrew England in Abu Dhabi
Published: December 30 2008

As Arab states scramble to find a unified response to Israel’s onslaught on Gaza, Turkey appears to be taking the initiative to bridge divisions that have undermined Arab efforts to influence Palestinians.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Turkish prime minister, is scheduled to begin a tour of Arab nations on Wednesday, as Arab League foreign ministers hold an emergency meeting in Cairo to find a common stand on the Gaza crisis.

The attacks have so far only helped illuminate the divisions that exist in the Middle East from the level of the street to the region’s governments – differences that have hampered Arab efforts to rein in Hamas, the Islamist movement, and reconcile bitterly divided Palestinian factions.

Turkey, which is not a member of the Arab League, has been close to Israel but took a strong stance against the attacks on Gaza and suspended its role as mediator of indirect talks between the Jewish state and Syria.

Mr Erdogan will visit Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Jordan for consultations on ways to “restore peace”.

The three are Washington’s key allies in the Middle East and share concerns about the rise of political Islam, as well as the influence of Iran.

Mr Erdogan will also stop off in Syria, which is regarded as a maverick and often finds itself in the opposing corner to the region’s US allies.

The regional struggle for influence between Washington’s allies on the one side and Syria and Iran on the other, has played out in Iraq and Lebanon, as well as in the Palestinian territories.

Damascus supports Hamas, while other Arab states, particularly Egypt, which shares a border with Gaza, consider the Islamist group a barrier to Palestinian unity and the broader Arab-Israeli peace process.

Hesham Youssef, a senior official at the Arab League, acknowledged that it was difficult to reach an Arab consensus but said the key was finding an end to the violence.

“The situation is very sensitive and there are divisions, so it will not be easy,” he said. “But there are agreements on fundamentals – everybody wants this military attack to cease right now.”

The massive demonstrations that have taken place across the Middle East have piled the pressure on Arab states to be seen to be taking a more active stand against the Jewish state.

In what seemed to be a reaction to the criticism, Mr Mubarak, the Egyptian president, on Tuesday gave his strongest condemnation yet of the attacks, accusing Israeli leaders of “savage aggression against the Palestinians”.

But he also insisted that Egypt’s border with Gaza would not be fully reopened until the Palestinian Authority was in control of border posts.

Some of the fiercest statements against Israel had previously come from Iran and Hizbollah, the Lebanese militant movement which is backed by Iran and Syria, which seem more adept at tapping into the public mood.

A similar scenario developed during the Israeli war in Lebanon in 2006, when Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia initially condemned Hizbollah, only to see the movement emerge as a champion for many Arabs as it withstood the Israeli onslaught.

The result is autocratic, western-backed governments looking ever more out of touch with the mood on the street.

The reality is that there is little more Arab states can do – other than appealing to Washington, which has tacitly backed Israel’s actions, to call for a ceasefire, while hoping to exert some influence on the Palestinian factions.

Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2008