People, both inside Turkey and outside, who are heartbroken by the massacre in Palestine, want Muslim states, especially Turkey, to do something. Because the oppression has become unbearable and individuals cannot do anything on their own and they do not have the power to do so, they rightly expect their states to take action. However, this is not as easy as it seems.
In the context of Turkey, even though our country recognizes Palestine as a state, not all countries recognize Palestine as a state. This poses a problem in the context of international law. However, if Turkey were to take action, this time the two heads in Palestine would be an obstacle. Because the government led by Mahmoud Abbas is the official representative of the recognized Palestine. This government does not recognize the existence of Hamas. Therefore, it would not invite a country to help, even for Gaza. In this case, uninvited intervention would turn into a kind of occupation.
Let’s say Turkey did what its conscience demanded and intervened anyway. The number of people who would support a possible intervention and stand behind the government is much smaller than we think. Some of the people of this country hate to even see refugees on their streets just because they are Arabs. They will not be willing to fight for the Arab(!), even if he is an oppressed one. Even among conservatives, Arab phobia is higher than ever. Not to mention the opposition. Just three days ago, the leader of the opposition blamed Hamas for the 35,000 Palestinians killed. He knows very well that Israel has been massacring Palestinians for 76 years, that it killed many more Palestinians before the October 7 attack, that Gaza is under blockade, that Palestinians are being massacred even in places like the West Bank where Hamas is not present, but he still blames Hamas. Because he wants to be on the side of the strong and to feel the power of the strong behind him in domestic politics, and also to express his Arab hostility. The opposition base, on the other hand, if a war breaks out, will show its side with hashtags like “This is not my war” and leave the government alone.
On the other hand, more can be done on the economic embargo. Yes, state institutions do not sell materials to Israel. They don’t sell weapons anyway. But the state does not interfere in private sector sales either. One reason for this is to prevent damage to companies. The state thinks that if it prevents companies from selling, there will be bankruptcies and layoffs. Therefore, it prefers not to interfere with the private sector. The best solution would be for company owners to be sensitive about this issue. Still, it can be said that the state and the private sector do not have a good test in terms of trade. The private sector – which can also be called the people’s sector – is profit-oriented, while the state’s hands are tied by the economic crisis.
Of course the responsibility for the crisis lies with those who run the state, but accusations that the government is cooperating with Israel are malicious. Neither President Erdoğan nor any other member of the government is the kind of person who would approve of what Israel is doing. In fact, if this country was stronger, they would have done what was necessary by now. If the people were not so divided, they would have done more. This is all that can be done with the means at hand and because of social division. We need to be realistic.
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