Middle East: Israel's Troubles with a Turkish Ally

The Results of the Mitchell Israel-Palestine Trip: Nothing

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On Sunday, Ankara made a dramatic last-minute decision to bar Israel from an international military exercise on Turkish soil. Israeli leaders see the decision as a political response linking to Turkey's continuing criticisms over Israel's military operations in Gaza.

On Sunday, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu spoke to CNN:

We hope that the situation in Gaza will be improved. The situation will be back to the diplomatic track. And that will create a new atmosphere in Turkish-Israeli relations as well. But in the existing situation, of course we are criticizing this ... Israeli approach.

On the same day, Several Israeli defense officials said advanced weapons sales to Turkey would now be reviewed, and a leading academic expert on Israeli-Turkish relations suggested ending support for Turkey on the Armenian genocide issue in Washington if the deterioration in ties continues.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry tried to minimise the issue on Monday:

The international part of the Turkish exercise had merely been postponed and it is inappropriate to draw a political meaning and conclusion from the postponement. it is impossible to accept the assessments and comments attributed to Israeli officials in the press. We invite Israeli officials to [use] common sense in their stance and statements.

This may have eased the situation, as Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak responded:

Israel's relations with Turkey are strategic, and have existed for dozens of years. Despite all the ups and downs Turkey continues to be a key player in our region.

Yet nothing in Middle East is ever limited to straightforward bilateral exchanges. The Turkish-Israeli tension occurs as Ankara's extends its Middle Eastern presence with other ties. On Tuesday, ten Turkish ministers including the Foreign Minister travelled to Damascus for the meeting fo the Turkey-Syria High Level Strategic Cooperation Council, established last month.

Palestine: West Bank Leadership Scrambles to Regain Authority

Israel-Palestine: No Progress in Mitchell Tour

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The Palestinian Authority, trying to fend off increasing pressure over its deferral of the Goldstone Report at the United Nations Human Rights Council last week, called for a general strike in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip on Friday to protest Israel's "measures against the al-Aqsa Mosque" and asked the Human Rights Council to discuss both the Goldstone Report and the recent clashes between Palestinians and Israeli policemen in East Jerusalem .
On Friday, the Central Council of Fatah, the party of the Palestinian Authority leadership, called on the populace to mobilize "in defense" of al-Aqsa Mosque, protesting Israel's restrictions on access. Meanwhile, Ibrahim Khraishi, the Palestinian Authority's ambassador to the UN, said, "We deferred, so we were expecting that the Israelis should respect in some way human rights, but this act of aggression against people, against the human rights and humanitarian law, is unbelievable."

Israeli media, however, report that the Palestinian move will be blocked by the US, which is supposedly embarrassed by the situation. Israeli officials claim that the "number one topic" for US envoy George Mitchell during his meeting with Palestinian officials was to convince them not to pursue the initiative.

Palestinian Leaders Support Israel to Defer Vote on Goldstone Report

Israel-Palestine: Gazans in Poverty Triple

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On Thursday, Palestinian Authority agreed to delay until March a vote set for today at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. If the report had been endorsed by the Council, the UN Security Council would have been able to bring Israelis before the International Criminal Court at The Hague for prosecution of war crimes or crimes against humanity. Although support for the report was strong enough to get a general endorsement, six nations (US, Belgium, France, Italy, Norway, and Britain) could not find common ground on the text with the other 41 members.

The Palestinian ambassador to the UN , Ibrahim Khraishi, told The Jerusalem Post that the Palestinian side was interested in a compromise rather than a quickly-passed resolution from the Council: "It will help us to explain to the Israelis that the international community is with the Palestinians to achieve their hopes and their dreams." There are reports President Obama personally told the Palestinians that the peace process would be affected adversely by a vote for the Goldstone Report.

Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said:

I remind you that this very council has adopted more resolutions targeting Israel than resolutions targeting all other 180 countries in the world put together. If the council decides to endorse the Goldstone report it will deal a fatal blow to three major issues: Firstly, it will harm the war on terror, because it will legitimize terrorists who hide behind civilians and fire from their midst.

The second devastating blow will be to the UN's status and its prestige. It will take it back to its darkest days when absurd decisions were passed within its assembly and empty it of all meaning.

Thirdly, Israel will not be willing to take risks for peace if stripped of its right to self-defense.

Israel-Palestine Inside Line: No Peace Talks; Row Over Goldstone Report (Video)

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Palestine: Watching the Division of a City (Hebron)

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Fatah Holds Line on Israel's Settlements: On Tuesday, Fatah's Central Committee, the movement's key decision-making body, met with the Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas. Last week's tripartite meeting was discussed during the meeting. The faction declared that Abbas must not resume peace talks unless Israel freezes its settlement construction.

Mohammed Dahlan, a committee member, said the panel told Abbas he must not budge, as "settlements and negotiations are two parallel lines that will never meet". According to Dahlan, Fatah's reservation on the peace process is also an advantage that can be used as leverage against President Barack Obama's insistance on peace talks "without preconditions".

Netanyahu Blasts Goldstone Report on Gaza: Richard Goldstone told CNN on Wednesday that Israel had targeted civilian sites during the Gaza War, though he stressed that he did not believe it was an Israeli policy: "Some of the killing...was certainly intentional. There was no mistake in bombing factories. The Israeli intelligence has very precise information."

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NCcexzbAkw[/youtube]

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisting that any trial by the International Criminal Court of the war crimes alleged in the report would deal a death blow to peace:

[The UN] could revert back to the days when it compared Zionism to racism. It's starting in Israel, but it will reach other nations and it will hurt the UN. Anyone who supports the Goldstone report and its conclusions is in effect against peace.

If the report reaches the international court in Hague, it will bring the peace process to a halt because Israel won't take the risks necessary to achieve peace if it is not assured the right to defend itself. Anyone who desires peace must stop this report right now.