In an interview with the website of the Strategic Council on Foreign Relations, Rahman Qahramanpour emphasized that the main factor in creating tension in the positions of the officials of the two sides regarding the Gaza war is related to Turkey’s internal politics, the status of the Justice and Development Party and the developments in the region. He said following the recent local elections in Turkey, it became clear that the position of the Justice and Development Party has weakened among the conservative and religious groups, which is basically considered the main base of this party and has played a significant role in its victories.

He continued: On the other hand, the “Saadat” party, which is one of the Islamist parties, was able to win good votes in the municipal elections, and most of their votes came from the Justice and Development Party basket. One of the reasons for the success of the Saadat party was its positions on Palestine and the issues of the Islamic world. Therefore, the Justice and Development Party strategists concluded that from the perspective of a section of the religious and conservative groups, the Justice and Development Party is no more regarded as Islamist than it used to be before. It is not considered an Islamist Party in the sense it used to be at the beginning. As a result, an attempt was made by the JDP to show itself as an Islamist party. Right from that time, Islamist statements and policies intensified in the party and from Erdogan personally.

This expert on international issues stated: From the past until now, the Palestinian issue has been important in Turkey, and after the Marmara ship incident and the Zionist regime’s attack on the Turkish aid ship, Erdogan concluded that the Palestinian issue could be a decisive vote for him. This is the main reason to be considered in understanding Turkey’s behavior towards the Palestinian issue. Moreover, we have seen that Turkey is trying to improve its relations with Syria because the Syrian issue has a lot of repercussions in Turkey, and the criticism of the government’s performance concerning Syrian refugees is significant.

Qahramanpour said: The second variable in Turkey’s recent behavior towards the Israeli regime is the developments in the region. Turkey’s perception is that America has decided to reduce or redefine its presence in the region, and this is a good opportunity for this country to use this space for its more significant presence and influence in West Asia.

After the Arab Spring, Turkey used military tools and tactics in its foreign policy. Turkey’s military presence in Libya and northern Syria was a great opportunity to increase military intervention abroad; in addition, Turkey consolidated its position in Syria by supporting some rebel and Salafist groups and the “Sadat” group, whose head is one of the former Islamist militaries in Turkey, was in a way a proxy force of Turkey in Syria. This group, which has close relations with Erdogan, is similar to the Wagner group in Russia, and played an important role in the Caucasus war and Libya in confronting Khalifa Haftar.

He continued: On the third level, Turkey feels that the West does not pay the necessary attention to Turkey because it seems that America no longer has strategic interests in West Asia and the Caucasus region, and its eyes are on the Asia Pacific and investing in this region. In fact, the West no longer recognizes the role that Turkey played as a strategic partner of America in the region and, in some way, does not need it anymore. In this regard, even though we are witnessing continuous crises in Shamat, America will no longer grant Turkey the privileges of the past.

This international affairs expert said: Considering these conditions, Turkey sees more room for maneuver in the region and is trying to move towards strategic independence from the West. However, America does not want to be indifferent to Turkey’s regional ambitions.

Moreover, Turkey feels that it can have something on the subject of Gaza, which has international dimensions. That is why the Turkish Foreign Minister, the head of the intelligence service, and Erdogan’s deputy attended the funeral of Ismail Haniyeh in Qatar to send the message that Turkey is committed to the Palestinian issue. It is an important player, and a share should be given to this country.

Qahramanpour considered the escalation of the war of words between Israeli and Turkish regime officials in recent weeks as a result of the parties’ mistrust of each other and said: “There has been a deep pessimism in the relations between the two countries since Erdogan came to power, and this pessimism intensified in 2012 in the Marmara incident.” On the other hand, despite exchanging ambassadors, the two sides still have serious doubts about each other’s intentions. Sometimes, this situation leads to verbal tension and the exchange of non-diplomatic words, such as when the Turkish flag at the embassy of this country in the Occupied Territories was half-mast as a sign of mourning for Ismail Haniyeh it recalled its ambassador, and this shows that there is no complete trust between the two sides.