Support for Palestine

by Martin Aslan

During the Ottoman period, Palestine was under Turkish rule for 400 years. After the collapse of the Ottoman Empire in 1923 and a period under British mandate, a Partition Plan was voted by the UN General Assembly on 29 November 1947 for the creation of a Jewish state and an Arab state. By rejecting this decision, Palestine came into conflict with the Hebrew state. The Palestinian question has become a symbol, a pretext that allows Muslim countries to amplify their anti-Western rhetoric.

Palestine under ottoman influence 

The seizure of the Caliphate in 1517 marked a turning point in the history of the Ottoman Empire. 1517 was also the year in which Palestine became subject to the empire. Once Caliph, Suleiman the Magnificent had the Dome of the Rock and the city walls of Jerusalem restored between 1538 and 1535. In 1541, he closed the Golden Gate to prevent the Jewish Messiah from entering. As the Ottoman caliphate became hegemonic, non-Muslims had a subordinate status. However, the system of millets, introduced after the capture of Constantinople, established a degree of cultural and religious tolerance.  As a result, non-Muslims enjoyed fairly extensive autonomy in return for their loyalty to the Ottoman Empire.

Post Ottoman Palestine 

After the fall of the Ottoman Empire in 1923, Palestine came under British mandate. Following a vote by the UN General Assembly on 29 November 1947, clashes broke out between the Jewish and Arab Palestinian communities.  The conflict led the British to abandon their Mandate. On 14 May 1948, the day before the British Mandate expired, David Ben Gurion proclaimed the independence of the State of Israel. This conflict was the starting point for a mass exodus of the Palestinian population, the Nakba. 750,000 Palestinians fled their land to neighbouring countries such as Lebanon, Syria and Jordan to settle in camps. It was not until 15 November 1988 that Palestinian independence was proclaimed. Although the Palestinian National Authority became the State of Palestine in January 2013, the country remains divided between two rival factions represented by Hamas and Fatah in two territories: the Gaza Strip and the West Bank (cisjordanie).

Supporters of the palestinian cause

The founding of the Muslim Brotherhood in Cairo in 1928 led the movement to become involved in the tensions between Palestinians and Israelis in the mid-1940s. In 1945, an armed Arab branch in Palestine was created to fight against Zionism. Many activists took part in the 1948 Arab-Israeli war. This historic step gave the movement a real raison d'être. 

Founded in 1987, Hamas is a radical Islamist and nationalist Palestinian movement.  Although Hamas is classified as a terrorist organisation by some thirty Western countries, the movement is financially supported by Qatar. Although Shiite, Iran is Hamas' main supporter through the Revolutionary Guards. The Lebanese Hezbollah is also a Hamas ally.

Türkiye is a special case. While Palestine was under the domination of the Ottoman Empire for 400 years, Ankara was the first Muslim-majority state to recognise the Israeli state in 1949. The depth of its cultural and religious ties makes Türkiye a fervent supporter of Palestine. However, Türkiye is seeking to develop economic relations with Israel, particularly in the energy sector. Türkiye's ambiguous position in international relations shows that Ankara is trying to take advantage of every situation.

For nearly 80 years, the Palestine question has been an issue championed by influential regional powers, yet no concrete solution has been found. The so-called links with Palestine are masked by the personal interests of regional players. Palestine is reduced to a symbol that benefits the influence of countries such as Iran, Qatar and Türkiye.