What Was Shepherd Blinken Up To During His Latest Middle East Tour?
I am here today not only as the US Secretary of State, but also as a Jew. (…) I brought a clear message to Israel. You may be strong enough to defend yourself. But as long as the USA exists, you will never have to do this, because we will always be with you. .. What changed?
The fact that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken's "Fourth Middle East Tour" started from Turkey has clearly strengthened and almost riveted the importance given to Turkey as a regional power. After Blinken's contacts in Turkey, Greece and Jordan, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, the West Bank and Egypt, his visit will end in Israel. The fact that this tour starts from Turkey, in a sense, reveals the importance of Turkey's reservations regarding both the F-16, Sweden's NATO admission process and Gaza issues.
Since his first visit to Turkey, a lot of water has flowed under the bridge, and great progress has been made in the world public opinion's opposition to the Israel-US partnership. Now, let's remember that tour together. Blinken's "Third Middle East Tour" started from Israel on November 3, 2023, just like his "Fourth Middle East Tour" started from Turkey. The USA, which shouts that it is always with Israel on almost every occasion, carried out its "Middle East Tour" as a challenge to the world, a week after the resolution requesting a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza was accepted with 121 votes at the UN General Assembly on October 27, 2023, and Blinken said: It was also the occasion for him to use his famous expression that has been engraved in memory:
"I am here today not only as the US Secretary of State, but also as a Jew. (…) I brought a clear message to Israel. You can be strong enough to defend yourself. But as long as the USA exists, you will never have to do this, because we will always be with you. "(one)
This situation clearly dictated that Israel, one of the three pillars of the US's national military strategic concept, would be supported at all costs. Within the scope of his Third Middle East Tour, Blinken came to Ankara as the last stop after Israel, Jordan, the West Bank, Southern Cyprus and Iraq. As may be described as a scandal in some western circles, Ambassador Yaprak, Director General of Bilateral Political Affairs Responsible for the USA, was at Ankara Esenboğa Airport. After being welcomed by Balkan and Ankara Deputy Governor Namık Kemal Nazlı, he had a two and a half hour meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs Hakan Fidan in Ankara.
Blinken's choice of Turkey as the first stop in his second visit within the scope of his "Fourth Middle East Tour" also reveals the importance of Turkey in the jargon of international relations. The question that needs to be asked now is: "Has Ankara attached special importance to this situation?" Both yes and no. He attached importance to it. Unlike the first one, his meeting with President Erdoğan is seen as an important distinguishing feature. On the other hand, this second visit, similar to the first, was welcomed at Istanbul Airport by Ambassador Yaprak Balkan and Airport Administrative Chief İlker Haktankaçmaz. In fact, this ongoing initiative is a clear indication that the crisis of confidence in the USA has not yet been overcome. After his meeting with Minister of Foreign Affairs Hakan Fidan at the Vahdettin Mansion in Istanbul, Blinken was also received by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Blinken, who then went to Athens to meet with Mitçotakis, talked about the meetings held at the airport on Crete Island before going to Jordan, "How to talk to the leaders of Greece and Turkey about how to bring their countries closer and the latest steps for Sweden to join NATO." "We talked." He used the expression.
Referring to the conflicts in Gaza, the US Minister emphasized that Turkey's aid to Gaza and its contact with Hamas leaders, with veiled expressions, that it was "ready to use its relations with critical players in the region to reduce conflicts" led to various comments. Stating that they are focusing on preventing the spread of the Gaza conflict, Blinken once again stated that "Israel has to defend itself", which also shows his disconnection from the world and world public opinion. However, on December 13, 2023, the UN General Assembly adopted the draft resolution calling for an urgent humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza with 153 votes, against 10 "no" votes from the USA. On October 27, 2023, the previous resolution requesting a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza was adopted by the UN General Assembly with 121 votes. It was noteworthy that the number of countries voting yes on the bill, which was accepted with an even more overwhelming majority 1.5 months later, increased to 153 with the addition of 32 more countries. While the no votes decreased from 14 to 10, the decrease in abstentions from 45 to 23 also revealed the lack of support for the occupying power.
In a rough draft, it is an indication that the United States has clearly become isolated. Is that all? Undoubtedly not. Israel's partnership with the United States in the ethnic cleansing, genocide and war crimes it has committed in both Gaza and the West Bank is being exposed, and it also shows that the network of relations it has barely maintained with regional allies is beginning to crack. On the other hand, as we enter the election climate, the cries of the US voters about the increasing economic cost of the war indicate a situation that shakes the heavens and the earth. Let's not forget, US voters will travel three subway stops to buy meat for 10 cents less.
Another distinguishing feature of the meetings in Istanbul is that Blinken mentioned that the 14 km "Philadelphia Corridor" passing through the Gaza Strip was accepted as "Area D" according to the agreement agreed between Israel and Egypt in 1979. As is known, this corridor or axis was used and controlled by Egypt and Occupied Israel until 2005. As is known, after the lifting of the occupation and Israel's withdrawal from Gaza, this regional separation concentrated in the occupied West Bank region within the framework of the "Second Oslo Accord" signed between Palestine and the Israeli administration in 1995. As you know, the West Bank region is divided into regions A, B and C. The administration of Zone A, which covers 18 percent of the reserved areas, is given to Palestine with full administrative and security control, the administrative management of Zone B, which is 21 percent, is transferred to Palestine, and its security is transferred to Israel, while the administration and security of Zone C, which covers 61 percent, is completely transferred to Israel. It was left to . In Zone C, isolated settlements in the rest of the West Bank, large areas, and private roads leading to Jerusalem for settlers reveal a completely Arab situation that is inextricable and unlivable.
As is also known, while the Israeli right insists on denying the existence of the Palestinians as a people, as it has been doing for years, the left wing does not mention the ideal of peace with the Palestinians or steps towards a two-state solution (2), and it seems that it has completely fallen off the agenda after the Aqsa Flood operation. House demolitions, Israeli army raids regardless of area “A”, “B” or “C”, military violence resulting in the loss of lives of Palestinian civilians and Jewish settler violence have become commonplace in every inch of the West Bank, almost on a daily basis. After October 2023, the use of disproportionate force and its dosage increased to a point that became synonymous with genocide.
As can be seen, according to the 1995 Oslo Agreement, Palestine does not have territorial integrity as a state, and it also reflects a situation in which sovereignty is severely restricted, reminiscent of the Treaty of Sèvres. According to the Oslo agreement, the amount that we can call full sovereignty in Palestine's hands is only 18 percent of the West Bank. 30 years after the Oslo Accords, the Israeli occupation of Palestine has increased and turned into an "apartheid regime" where Jews and non-Jews are separated. (2) Now, considering Netanyahu's description of "There will be neither Hamasistan (Gaza) nor Fatahistan (West Bank)" in the region, the Gaza Strip's status as zone D based on the "Philadelphia Corridor" discourse renders the Palestinian State discourse completely dysfunctional. It almost ends.
As a result, Blinken, whose nickname is "Shepherd" in the Middle East; In the Fourth Middle East Tour, it was once again confirmed that the USA is seeking to take tighter control over the increasingly tense and unstable situation in the region, but that the USA is faced with this increasingly difficult task as it has lost its hegemonic power in the unipolar world. While international criticism of Israel's military operations in Gaza has become evident, the latest attacks in the Red Sea, Lebanon, Iran and Iraq further increase concerns about the ability of the United States to carry out its duty. Moreover, with Blinken undertaking an impossible task for a 'shepherd' in his "Fourth Middle East Tour", it was seen that the relations between the USA and Israel were cracking, and this brought with it many speculations about the depth of the crack. One of the most important signs of this crack against the US impositions is the statement made by Israeli Public Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, referring to the USA: "We, as Israel, are not one of the stars on the US flag." is the saying, dear readers.
Footnotes:
(1) TRT Haber, “Blinken: Bir Yahudi olarak da buradayım”, 12.10.2023; https://www.trthaber.com/haber/dunya/blinken-bir-yahudi-olarak-da-buradayim-802985.html/ Erişim Tarihi 07.01.2024/
(2) Mücahit Aydemir, “Oslo Anlaşması'nın 30. yılı: İsrail iki devletli çözüm idealini yok etti”, Anadolu Ajansı, 14.09.2023; https://www.aa.com.tr/tr/dunya/oslo-anlasmasinin-30-yili-israil-iki-devletli-cozum-idealini-yok-etti/2992058 / erişim Tarihi 07.01.2024/
