Could a war of words between Turkey and Israel escalate toward a new crisis? - analysis

Turkey and Israel appear to be heading towards increasing chances of a confrontation in the region. This confrontation has so far played itself out primarily as a war of words. For instance, Turkey’s interior minister, Mustafa Ciftci, said he hoped to see the “liberation” of Jerusalem. He compared this to recent conflicts between Armenia and Azerbaijan and in Syria, where areas had been liberated from adversaries.

On June 7, Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz wrote on social media, “To the Turkish Interior Minister who dreams of administering Jerusalem and hurls threats, I say this: Jerusalem is not Constantinople, and the State of Israel is not a crumbling Crusader Empire. Israel is a strong and resolute state that has proven its capacity to defend itself against any threat.”

Katz went on to note to the Turkish official that “Jerusalem has been the capital of the Jewish people for 3,000 years and will remain Israel’s capital forever. You and the Ottoman Empire that Erdogan dreams of, on the other hand, have collapsed and will never return.“Unfortunately, you have learned nothing from the legacy of Atatürk, who worked to transform Turkey into a modern state; on the contrary, you are working to drag Turkey back into a dark and backward era.”  (Ed note: In your face, Ciftci.) (Read More)