Although historically Turkey has been reluctant to participate in international legal affairs and, along with Israel, has not yet ratified the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, its government is currently pressing for the formation of an international commission to investigate the flotilla raid, reports Karabat Ayse for Today’s Zaman. Ayse argues thatIsrael’s ambassador to Washington, Michael Oren, has rejected such an idea, contending that as a democracy “Israel has the ability and the right to investigate itself, not to be investigated by any international board.”

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davotoglu stated, “If Israel does not accept such a proposal, it would show their guilt. It is out of the question for us [the Turkish government] to accept any justification for the killing of our citizens.”

Despite Turkey’s promise of an investigation, the Arab world’s response has remained mixed and cautious. Taleb Zaki with the Arab Times cited Kuwaiti columnist and economic researcher Amer Al-Tameemi voicing his criticism towards Turkey, noting that the country is in fact more concerned in keeping good relations with NATO and the West, rather than with the Middle East.
Al-Tameemi explained that the country’s historically secular domestic and foreign policy as contributing to his skepticism as to Turkey’s realignment with Arab countries.

However, the recent electoral victory of the conservative, religiously minded Justice and Development Party signaled a significant change, challenging the military’s authority and also paving the way for an ideological rapprochement with the Middle East. Turkey’s response to the freedom flotilla raid has been perceived by many as a turning-point, or at least an indicator of tacit support for Arab policies towards Israel, stated Al-Tameemi.

Zaki added that according to Fahd Al-Hadari, a columnist for Arrouiah Daily, Turkey’s perceived pro-Arab response only came as a nationalistic reaction over the death of 9 of its citizens in the raid, rather than resulting from a policy shift. Turkey has long been an ally of Israel, from the onset in 1949, and it is difficult to conceived that the continued economic and military support of Israel will break so easily.

On the other hand, Al-Dar daily columnist Faisal Al-Ali perceives Turkey as intent upon renouncing its historical ties with Israel, notably with a view to establishing closer relations with the Arab states instead. Yet, Turkey recently denounced any accusations that it aimed to break its ties with the West while fostering better relations with the Arab world, reports the Associated France Presse. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayipp decried last week that “those who say that Turkey has broken away from the West are the intermediaries of an ill-intentioned propaganda”, while pointing out that France also invests in Syria and other Arab countries without facing similar allegations.

Up until the Revolution of 1979, Iran, Israel and Turkey were united as non-Arab Middle East States, and the three states continue to be regarded as the most powerful in the region. However, as a result of the May 31st raid, Yossi Alpher for The Jerusalem Post believes that “Israel is now the odd man out.” More concerning to Alpher is the right-wing government officials’ contestation that global outcry is both anti-Israel and anti-Semitic, a reaction which “seemingly justifies raising the ramparts of fortress Israel even higher, in a kind of paranoid vicious circle of isolation.”

Israel maintains that the naval blockade of Gaza since 2006 is meant solely to prevent the importation of weaponry to Gaza militants looking to attack Israel, report Matthew Chance and Sayah Reza for CNN. Helle Dale from The Foundry further notes that over the past 18 months more than a million tons of humanitarian aid has arrived in Gaza from Israel.

“The Israeli/Egyptian blockade is not in place to keep out food, medicine or building supplies” writes Dale, rather is part of an “effort to minimize the deprivation of the Palestinian population” while preventing the further inflow of weaponry to Gaza militants.

In the United States as well, politicians and journalists alike have recognized that the American government now faces the difficult choice of siding with Israel or Turkey in response to the Gaza-bound flotilla raid, reports Sharmine Narwani for The Huffington Post.

Since the Reagan administration, the United States has remained a staunch ally of Israel, explains Narwani. However, she notes that “today Israel is a very real strategic liability. We have lost all influence and credibility in the Mideast.” The United States’ 27 Security Council vetoes between 1984 and 2006 on resolutions critical of illegal Israeli actions or demanding adherence to international law, along with its reliance on Israeli intelligence for all political action in the Middle East, are particularly concerning to Narwani.

In her view, “Israel harms us each and every time it makes a move in the Middle East” for “the whole international community buys into the view that we sanction and support” all its actions.

A 2010 Rand Corporation study recognized Turkey’s importance to US foreign policy as it “stands at the nexus of four areas that have become increasingly critical to US security since the end of the Cold War: the Balkans, the Middle East, the Caucasus/Central Asia, and the Persian Gulf region,” continued The Huffington Post journalist Narwani. In recent decades Turkey has improved its economy and international influence through strong, innovative treaties with its many neighbors, drawing Narwani to conclude that few countries have served global stability and security better.