Erdogan is seen by his critics as riding a wave of nationalistic, Islamist outrage in his defiance of any reconciliation with Israel and in highlighting the sufferings of the Palestinians, which what his electorate exactly wants. The diplomatic ties between Turkey and Israel seem to be heading towards rapprochement after nearly four years of damaged relations. The rift between the two nations was the result of the death of several Turkish citizens who were on board of the Mavi Marmara ship in 2010, after Israeli soldiers boarded the ship to prevent it from reaching the Gaza Strip, placed under economic blockade by Israel since 2008. The Turkish Prime Minister demanded that the Israeli government apologize for the death of the Turkish citizens, pay compensation to families of victims as well as lifting the blockade imposed on the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip. It wasn't until last April that the Israeli government, who repeatedly refused the Turkish premier's terms, offered the apology after United States President, Barack Obama, pushed for a resolution and urged the Israeli Prime Minister to offer the long-awaited apology. Thus, over the past 11 months, diplomatic convoy from both countries were exchanging visits to both capitals and holding meeting in order to finalize a deal between the two major US allies in the Middle East. Last month, a deal seemed to be in the horizon when Turkish Foreign Minister, Ahmet Davutoglu, said in a televised speech that the two nations were "close to normalization" in ties since the Mavi Marmara. Several Israeli officials made similar remarks in recent weeks. However, following this breakthrough, the Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, announced that no deal would be possible unless the Israeli government issue a written statement that it would lift the current blockade on Gaza. While Erdogan words indicate that such a request was included on the negotiations table, an Israeli official close to the talks claimed otherwise. The Israeli frustrations with Erdogan and his defiant stance against finalizing the deal with Israel are growing by the day. Following Erdogan's remarks, a senior Israeli Minister said that the Turkish prime minister was "blocking" the deal. "I am in favor of an agreement with Turkey, but (the current impasse) is Erdogan's fault," Strategic Affairs Minister Yuval Steinitz told the Israeli public radio. "I don't understand Erdogan's behaviour." As frustrating as it seems, Erdogan's defiance against finalizing the deal is not surprising. At home, Erdogan has been capitalizing the row with Israel over the past four years in order to please his Justice and Development party's AKP grassroots supporters. Erdogan's party has deep Islamist roots and its supporters are arguably the more conservative and pious Muslim Turks who dislike Israel and its treatment to the Palestinians in West bank and Gaza Strip. Majority of those supporters tend to entertain the ideas that Israel and/or the world's Jewish population are capable of shifting tides and influencing international polices to their interest and against the interest of Muslims. According to Erdogan, Israel, along with other countries and media outlets, had a hand in the popular Gezi protests last June that started with hundreds of environmentalists against the demolition of Gezi Park in Taksim square in Istanbul and then turned into a massive anti-government unrest across the country. Erdogan also blamed Israel for what he called a coup in Egypt and for the ouster of Islamist president Mohammad Morsi, who used to be a close ally to Erdogan. The Turkish premier also hinted numerous times that Israel was collaborating with a "parallel state" in his country to orchestrate the corruption probe against his former ministers, which started in December. By the end of this month, Erdogan and his party are gearing up to one of the most critical round of local and general elections that would define the AKP's future over the next decade. While facing mounting criticism at home and abroad over the government reaction to the last summer's protests, a high-level corruption investigation as well as crackdown on critical media, observers say Erdogan and his party's only hope seems to be exploiting the rift with Israel. Thus, observers argue that the deal is unlikely to be sealed until after the upcoming elections. Meanwhile, the repercussions of the rift between Turkey and Israel extend further than just a diplomatic conflict. For Israel, Turkey and the US, not resolving the conflict poses a threat for world's energy and economy. Israel is in need to export its large recently discovered natural gas to the world and its best chance to do so would have to include Turkey in the equation. A recent report by the Turkish daily Hurriyet indicated that Israeli and Turkish firms are in talks to lay an undersea pipeline from the natural gas field site in the Mediterranean to the southern coast of Turkey. This project could benefit Turkey by reducing its highly expensive annual energy bill. As for Israel, according to the report, the $2 billion pipeline will be cheaper to build than any other alternative as for example building a $10 billion liquefied natural gas facility in Cyprus. These economic stakes seem to be enough motivation for US President Obama to call Erdogan on Feb 20 for more than one hour, where he urged him to finalize the deal with Israel and resume diplomatic ties, according to the White House.
