Seeking to Boost Alliance, Turkey, Egypt Criticize Syrian Regime, Support Palestinians

Morsi and Erdogan

[Washington Post] Turkey and Egypt sought to boost their alliance in a turbulent region on Sunday, unleashing harsh criticism of the Syrian regime and pledging joint support for the Palestinian cause.

Egypt’s new president, Mohammed Morsi, addressed a major congress of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling party, amid signs that a partnership between their two countries is emerging, and said they both plan to stand by Palestinians and the Syrian people. [Read more...]

Obama’s friend in Turkey

Obama and Erdogan

[from The Washington Post] As President Obama was feeling his way in foreign policy during his first months in office, he decided to cultivate a friendship with Turkey’s headstrong prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Over the past year, this investment in Turkey has begun to pay some big dividends — anchoring U.S. policy in a region that sometimes seems adrift. [Read more...]

Thousands of Turks Rally in Taksim Square in Istanbul Against Israel on the Anniversary of the Flotilla Raid

Taksim Square

Thousands of people chanted slogans and waved banners against Israel in Istanbul on Thursday in a rally marking the two year anniversary of the IDF raid of a Gaza-bound flotilla ship in which nine Turkish pro-Palestinian activists were killed, AFP reported.

[JERUSALEM POST] The rally was organized by one of the main groups behind the Gaza flotilla, the IHH, widely considered a terrorist organization by a number of bodies, the Israeli government among them. [Read more...]