{"id":9609,"date":"2019-04-17T15:00:31","date_gmt":"2019-04-17T12:00:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/palthink.org\/en\/?p=9609"},"modified":"2019-09-30T10:27:34","modified_gmt":"2019-09-30T07:27:34","slug":"9609","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/palthink.org\/en\/2019\/04\/9609\/","title":{"rendered":"Non-Arab Regional Players: Iran and Turkey by Khaled AL-Hroub"},"content":{"rendered":"

Date: <\/strong>Monday, April 15, 2019, 13:00<\/span><\/p>\n

Location: <\/strong>Light-House Hotel, Gaza City, Palestine.<\/span><\/p>\n

Background: <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBuilding Strategic Capacity: Empowering Civil, Political and Emerging Constituencies in Palestine and Israel\u201d is an EU Peacebuilding Initiative-funded project that develops the ongoing work of the Palestine Strategy Group (PSG), the Palestinian Citizens of Israel Group (PCIG) and the Israeli Strategic Forum (ISF). This roundtable discussion was part of the PSG dimension of the project. Since being founded in 2008, the PSG has produced a considerable number of studies and strategic reports on the Palestinian issue. In cooperation with Pal-Think for Strategic Studies, the Palestinian Center for Israeli Studies (MADAR) and Oxford Research Group, the PSG will produce 12 research papers between 2017 and 2020 which deal with multiple themes and perspectives that then culminates in the publication of the Strategic Policy Manual \u201cPalestine 2020\u201d. This policy report will be presented at a major conference in Ramallah in 2020 and incorporate all the findings of the 12 PSG research papers as well as conclusions of the PCIG.<\/span><\/p>\n

Workshop\u2019s Attendees:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

The roundtable was conducted in the Gaza strip. Attendees included Mr. Omar Shaban, director of Pal-Think for Strategic Studies as a moderator, Prof. Khaled AL-Hroub is a Palestinian academic, a senior research fellow at the Centre of Islamic Studies and the co-ordinator of the Cambridge Arab Media Project (CAMP) at the University of Cambridge and also professor of Middle Eastern studies at Northwestern University in Qatar. And also, a diverse combination of 60 participants including journalists, professors, activists, intellectuals, writers, political analysts, and college students. Besides, 10 of the attendees were less than 30 years old, and 50 of them were above 30 years old.<\/span><\/p>\n

Moderator Contribution:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Mr. Shaban noted that this roundtable is part of Pal-Think\u2019s continued project with ORG and the PSG within the EU Peacebuilding initiative \u201cBuilding Strategic Capacity: Empowering Civil, Political and Emerging Constituencies in Palestine and Israel.\u201d Last year, the project tackled issues related to Palestine internally and on the Israeli agenda and then covered Palestine in the region, and now presenting policy papers related to Palestine on the international agenda. Ultimately, all the policy papers written will be presented at the conference in 2020. The policy paper of this session is Non-Arab Regional Players: Iran and Turkey by Prof. Khaled AL-Hroub.<\/span><\/p>\n

Khaled AL-Hroub Contribution:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

This paper attempts to analyze the Turkish and Iranian positions from the Palestinian cause, the foreign policies and the impact of these policies on the Palestinian political scene, and understand whether the Turkish and Iranian impact and intervention strengthen or weaken the Palestinian collective capacity in confronting Israel. The paper is divided into three parts:<\/span><\/p>\n

First and foremost, it provides a brief historical background for the development of both countries\u2019 positions; Iran and Turkey towards Palestine and Israel. Then understanding the Turkish and Iranian views and foreign policies towards Palestine within a broad regional and global context that helps us understand and frame the trends adopted by the two parties at different periods. The argument here is that national interests of both countries represent a vital tool towards understanding the positions of the two countries, in fact, national interests are the ones that dominated both countries foreign policies, not ideological speeches.<\/span><\/p>\n

Second is analyzing the current regional landscape and prospects of change in foreign policies and reaching possibilities for “potential regional tradeoffs” in which Turkey and Iran may be key actors, either together or in isolation, and how these trade-offs both countries positions and policies towards Palestinians.<\/span><\/p>\n

The third part provides the conclusions and recommendations for the Palestinian leadership and Palestinians themselves to form a deeper understanding of the two regional powers.<\/span><\/p>\n

There are four regional scenarios and tradeoffs… and Palestine:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

First<\/strong>, the escalations of the current regional confrontations and conflicts to a level of destructive regional wars. Second<\/strong>, the ongoing confrontations and conflicts might stay as they are at the moment, which means things get worse for all parties.\u00a0 Third<\/strong>, mutual containment of conflicting parties and reducing the conflict to lower levels than now. Fourth<\/strong>, resolving disputes and moving towards cooperation within a regional security system.<\/span><\/p>\n

At the heart of the most critical scenarios mentioned above, there is a shift in regional alliances and relations with Israel. It is worth mentioning that the most crucial coalition under formation is the three-way Israeli-Egyptian-Saudi- alliance, supported by the U.S which is based on confronting what these parties perceive as an “Iranian threat” This alliance represents a radical change in regional politics, in fact, if it becomes public and governs the relations of these three countries with each other. From an Israeli point of view, Israel\u2019s concerns have changed from focusing on Arab nationalism and its states as a source of threat over the past decades to the Islamists and their countries.<\/span><\/p>\n

Regional tradeoffs and the impact on the Turkish and Iranian positions towards Palestine and Palestinians:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n