It has been said that the best compromise is one that leaves all parties unhappy. If that is true, then the UN’s Palmer Report was a massive success. So why is everybody so angry?
The Palmer Report says that Israel “used unreasonable force in the raid of the Turkish vessel Mavi Marmara, but added that pro-Palestinian activists onboard mounted organized and violent resistance.” Israel believed their force to be reasonable. Turkey apparently believes that no level of force would have been acceptable.
As is typically the case in international relations, this joint unhappiness has come with a cost. Turkey has cut all military ties with Israel, expelled the Israeli ambassador and has threatened legal action, mentioning both UN sanctions and the International Court of Justice.
Of course Netanyahu has done what everyone knew he would do: he has refused to apologize. Even those critical of Bibi, and Israel in general, should be able to understand from where the Israeli Prime Minister is coming on this point. But the zeal with which he makes compromise a moot point can be alarming to those not fully prepared for the low-context ways of the Israelis. It should be mentioned that he did also express regret about the deaths of the nine Turkish nationals who fell during the raid.
Turkey is not just mad about the report’s findings, but also with the way in which it was made public. While there is nothing confirmed at this time, it appears that the report was leaked from the Israeli side. This has further angered their one-time ally.
Ankara, in retaliation for this apparent sleight (along with the findings themselves and the incident that sparked it all in the first place), is preparing some very complicated plans for the future. Prime Minister Erdogan is making plans to head to Egypt in a sign of strengthening ties between the two regional powers. More alarmingly from Jerusalem’s standpoint, he is planning a trip to Gaza in the near future and plans to increase the Turkish navy’s presence in the Eastern Mediterranean. Just to ensure that there was no ambiguity as to the intent of this new naval placement, Erdogan stated explicitly that the Turkish ships will pursue “a more aggressive strategy” and that they will accompany aid ships as they make their way to Gaza.
Turkish-Israeli relations may be dying diplomatically, but it sounds like these two will live on stronger than ever as frenemies for the foreseeable future. Could this have all been assuaged with an apology? Not likely. But I think it’s safe to say that as long as Bibi is in power, the world will never know.
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