At the end of the day, the Jerusalem conflict that started being debated after Trump's decision, is likely to damage the U.S.'s position in the region

Turkey's cooperation with Iran in Iraq and Syria will likely set new developments in motion across the Middle East

KRG leader Barzani might find it difficult to keep his seat whether the referendum takes place on Sept. 25 or not

Even if the ongoing row around Al-Aqsa Mosque ends peacefully, new tensions fueled by Israel for its interests will continue appearing

Keeping in mind that Turkey and Israel could launch mutually beneficial joint projects, including a pipeline to export natural gas to European markets, why is Netanyahu's government reluctant to shake hands with Turkey?

Although full of ups and downs, Turkish-Israeli relations have been experiencing their lowest point since the raid on the Mavi Marmara flotilla. The process of rapprochement, however, is looking to reshape relations for a more positive future.

Although abounding in energy sources compared to other regions, the Middle East suffers from the increasing significance of the energy market in shaping the nations' foreign policy in the 21st century.

Civil wars in Syria and Iraq are reshaping the Middle East, followed by issue-based alliances, thinking ahead and working on multiple scenarios.

The irony of the fate is that President of the United States Barack Obama had to broker Israel’s or the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s defeat to Turkey in the Middle East - though he could not wrestle with Israel in Washington.

Israel lost its zero sum game and Palestine emerged as the winner. As long as Israel doesn’t pursue a win-win strategy, it will be doomed to be a loser.

Syria and Israel are two semi-states which base their identities on pretended hostility.

There are many reasons to be hopeful about the election results in Bosnia and Herzegovina. After a very long time the Social Democratic Party (SDP) received the highest number of votes in the Bosniak-Croat Federation, and on the state level pulling in interethnic votes by re-electing Ivo Komsic, the Croat member of the Presidency. The election of Bakir Izetbegovic, the son of the legendary leader of the Bosniak independence movement, Alija Izetbegovic, is also a positive development. Bakir Izetbegovic is considered a moderate compared to the former Bosniak member of the Presidency, Haris Silajdzic, who regularly spoke of putting an end to Republika Srpska, further straining relations between Sarajevo and Banja Luka.

On May 31, 2010, Israeli commandos stormed a passenger ship, the Mavi Marmara, the largest boat of a flotilla of six boats which were carrying 10000 tons of humanitarian aid to besieged Gaza, in international high waters. The operation left 9 activists dead and over 30 activists wounded. The flotilla attack started a new trend for Turkish-Israeli relations. For the first time in history, Turkish citizens were directly exposed to Israeli aggression. In this sense, the attack constitutes a break in Turkish-Israeli relations. It is now not only Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians that will shape the nature of Turkish-Israeli relations, more than anything else, but it is Israel’s steps towards salvaging bilateral relations by reassuring the Turkish nation and state.

In a rather unprecedented cry of outrage, Prince Turki al-Faisal, one of the most prominent figures of the Saudi state, put it bluntly: If the US under the new Obama administration does not change its policy toward Israel and Palestine, the Saudis will no longer maintain their “special relationship” with the US (“Saudi Arabia’s patience is running out,” Financial Times, Jan. 23, 2009). Quoting from the Saudi king that his peace plan, called “the Arab peace initiative,” is still on the table, the prince added that “it would not remain there for long.” 

The 2009 Gaza massacre is not the first incident where Israel has killed, pillaged and destroyed Palestinian lives. In 1982 the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) under Ariel Sharon allowed the killing of more than 2,000 Palestinians in two Palestinian refugee camps in Sabra and Shatila.  

SETA PUBLIC LECTURE  Speakers:  H.E. Mr. Nabil Maaruf Palestinian Ambassador to Turkey İbrahim Kalın  SETA, Director General Ayşe Karabat  Today's Zaman Columnist Date: January 9, 2009 Friday  Time: 10.00 – 12.00 Venue: SETA Foundation, Ankara

There are two main reasons for the Turkish outcry. First of all, Turkey has been acting as a facilitator between Israel and Syria over the last year or so. According to Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan, the two sides were very close to moving to the next stage of direct talks. This would have been one of the most important breakthroughs in the Middle East in a long time. After the war on Gaza started, the Syrian-Israeli talks were suspended