Palestinian Nakba, Arabic and Islamic states’ attitudes towards it-2

The Ottomans are the first to sell Palestine

MOSTAFA AL-DAHDOUH/ GAZA

On November 2, 1917, the British Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour sent a letter to the Jewish Lord Lionel Rothschild in which, he indicated that his government would do its utmost efforts to establish a national homeland for the Jews in Palestine, but everyone is talking about Balfour's promise to divide Palestine ignoring the betrayal of the Palestinians by those who ruled Palestine before this British promise, namely the Ottomans and Turkish betrayal.

The Turkish betrayal of the Palestinians extends to the Ottoman occupation of the entire Arab area, when the Ottoman authorities agreed with the Jewish merchants in the 1800s to purchase the lands in Palestine under the name of waste and abandoned lands. This is the first betrayal of the Muslims towards the Palestinians.

In this dossier, we will talk about the Ottoman betrayal that laid the foundation for the Jewish presence in Palestine and giving it the right to exist and rule reaching the era of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his betrayal of the Palestinians passing through the economic relations and the recognition of Israel’s state since its declaration.

The Ottoman Caliphate paves the way for Jews in Palestine

The Turkish betrayal of the Palestinian people began in 1840, after the Ottoman authorities that were described at that time of the sick man subjected to the British decisions that aimed at opening the door to Jewish immigration to Palestine and opening the doors of trade and the lands acquisition with the Ottomans' consent for the first stage of flocking the Jews towards Palestine to begin.

That stage witnessed the processes of purchasing the waste and abandoned lands for money with the consent of the Ottomans, which enabled the presence of the British-Israeli influence in Palestine since the era of 1841 to begin the stage of Israeli settlement in Palestine at the hand of the Jewish Moses Montefiore and the stage of establishing a series of banks in the area to become an economic resource to strengthen the Israeli presence In the Arabic area, especially Palestine. Montefiore did not stop at this point, but established agricultural settlements in Galilee and Jaffa within the concept of commercial investment with Ottoman approval and blessing.

Montfiori obtained an Ottoman decree at that time that allowed him to purchase the lands for establishing the first Israeli residential neighborhood under the Israeli administration and supervision which was known as Montefiore neighborhood in Jerusalem in 1854 making it to get foreign concessions in Palestine for Palestine to witness a high number of Jews that reached 12 thousand Jews after the establishment of the neighborhood as a result of migration from the western countries.

The Union and the Promotion stroke the Palestinians

The period of the Ottoman Sultan Abdul Hamid II was the decisive blow to the Palestinian people because it clearly witnessed the opening of the door to the Israeli interventions into the country, and here, it has been highlighted the role of the leader of the World Zionist Movement Theodore Herzl and his attempts to persuade al-Sultan Abdul Hamid to give up Palestine for the Jews, and although he refused this demand, but he opened the door wide to the immigration of Jews to Palestine.

That period witnessed a number of changes as the influx of emigrants to Palestine was activated, and The World Zionist Organization and the Jewish National Fund were formed in Europe which contributed to the completion of emigration to Palestine through the purchase of lands and the establishment of settlements. Despite the knowledge of Sultan Abdul Hamid, but Abdul Hamid was committing massacres against the Arabs who revolted against the Ottoman occupation of their country.

The situation worsened by the coup d’état that was launched by the Union and Promotion Association against al-Sultan Abdel Hamid in 1908 as this association which was founded by Masons made the Jewish presence in Palestine a reality in 1910.

The recent Turkey and Treachery

In 1920, the Ottoman Empire signed Sever Treaty and abandoned Palestine in favor of the British Mandate. Accordingly, Britain declared the British Mandate of Palestine in 1920 paving the way for delivering it officially to the Jews.

During the era of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the Ottoman caliphate ended, and Ataturk became the only ruler of the state's decisions after his foreign minister Esmat Inono signed Lausanne Agreement in 1922 which granted Turkey the independence in exchange for the abolition of the Ottoman Caliphate, the expulsion of the Caliph and the declaration of the secular state, so that Palestine has been subjected to the British who applied their schemes.

Turkey is eager to conclude relations with Israel
The Ottoman occupation eased the way for Jews to go to Palestine and to own land, agricultural societies and the establishment of neighborhoods. The British Mandate came to consolidate this presence. Turkey was one of the first Muslim countries to recognize Israel in 1949, less than a year after the declaration of the establishment of Israel in 1948.

Turkey was eager to conclude agreements and understandings with Israel after its recognition, to begin the stage of secret visits, especially during the era of Israeli Prime Minister David Ben Gurion, who visited Ankara in secret in 1958 and meeting with the president Adnan Menderes, where an agreement was reached on the basic rules of the relationship between  two sides, and the result of these agreements was the migration of some 34,000 Turkish Jews to Palestine, thus the Turkish position appeared in support of Jewish project in Palestine.

The relations between Turkey and Israel remained secret, as a result of Turkey's fear of the Egyptian and Iraqi reaction at that time, because these two countries were influential in the region and had a heavy influence in the Arab region despite their loss in the 1948 war. But after the tripartite aggression against Egypt in 1956 and under pressure from the Turkish people, The Turkish authorities withdrew its embassy from Tel Aviv, and a second -class secretary became its representative to Israel.
In 1983, diplomatic relations between Turkey and Israel returned to their peak. Turkey reduced its economic dealings with the Arab countries and transferred its funds and investments to Israel, making the Israeli economy at its peak.
After this period, the tide of relations between Turkey and Israel prevailed, until the Turkish AK Party came to power, and the relations returning to a new peak between the two sides.

Erdogan visits Israel and shakes hands with Sharon

The Turkish betrayal of the Palestinians did not stop despite the brilliant slogans that fooled the Palestinians. Turkish President Abdullah Gul re-affirmed the Turkish-Israeli relations again, but what Turkish President Recep Teyyip Erdogan did was an unprecedented betrayal as a result of his malignant policy and trading in the homeland to achieve his interests.

Erdogan visited in 2005 when he was prime minister of Turkey, Israel and stood on Herzl's grave as if apologizing to him for not accepting the Ottoman Sultan Abdul Hameed to grant Palestine to the Jews. He also paid tribute to the victims of the Holocaust and lit candles in front of the Holocaust Memorial. In his hand at a time when Israel was committing massacres in Gaza and the West Bank, and increased trade between Turkey and Israel during  Erdogan period.

After several rounds of negotiations in a number of European cities, Turkey signed an agreement to normalize relations with Israel in 2016 after years of tension following the killing of 10 Israeli commandos on board the Marmara, which was seeking To reach the besieged Gaza Strip in 2010, and that relations were continuing and did not stop but were in the tide.

In the agreement on normalization, Turkey signed the text of the agreement which was written at the end of "Jerusalem the capital of Israel and Ankara, the capital of Turkey."

The Turkish ambassador's remarks about his country's reluctance to transfer the US embassy to Jerusalem surprised everybody in an interview with i24NEWS in January 2017,  he said, "We can only hope that the transfer of the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, New Donald Trump, will not hurt prospects for peace, the Turkish ambassador added "It is up to them to conduct their calculations."

Military relations and betrayal against the Palestinian resistance
Turkey began its military talks with Israel in 1955, and in 1958 saw the first actual steps taken by the two countries. Turkey bought an Israeli arms deal in 1974 and later appointed Turkey as a military advisor in Israel to consolidate relations. The two sides worked within a unified intelligence room to monitor the situation in Lebanon To eliminate the Palestinian Liberation Organization(PLO) .

The first joint attack and treachery against the Palestinian people in 1982, when Israel invaded Lebanon, was coordinated between the two parties to determine the positions of the resistance in PLO and the Kurdish and Armenian forces supporting the PLO.
In 1996, the Turkish president, Suleiman Demirel, visited Israel, where he announced the results of a meeting between Turkish Deputy Chief of Staff Chivak Bir and military leaders in Israel to conclude an agreement between the two sides.

Among the terms of the agreement, Israel provides Turkey with photographs of spy satellites on the locations of the Kurds in Syria, Iraq and Turkey, and in return the Turkish forces provide information about the Palestinian resistance with the aim of hitting both sides.
Turkey has signed several agreements with Israel, including agreements on defense industry cooperation and free trade. In 1998, Turkish, Israeli and US naval forces conducted joint exercises in the Mediterranean Sea, and Israel is now in charge of modernizing Turkish tanks and aircraft.

Tomorrow: Arabs, between the attempt to exploit and normalize relations with Israel.

A.H

ANHA