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Outspoken US professors slam Palmer report, approve Turkey’s position

Answering our questions, Professor of International Affairs Stephen Walt from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government said: “I believe the Palmer-Uribe report is mistaken about the legality of the Gaza blockade. It is permissible for Israel to halt the shipment of weapons into Gaza, but not to block delivery of other items and not to prevent exports out of Gaza. These actions are punitive, and should end immediately.”

Professors Mearsheimer and Walt are authors of “The Israel Lobby and US Foreign Policy,” which was published in late Aug. 2007 and became a New York Times Best Seller. Describing the Israel lobby as a “loose coalition of individuals and organizations who actively work to steer US foreign policy in a pro-Israel direction,” the book focused on the lobby’s influence on US foreign policy and its negative effect on American interests.

Before writing the book, the professors had been working on a paper commissioned by the Atlantic Monthly, which was later rejected and was published elsewhere attracting considerable controversy, both praise and criticism.

Prepared by former New Zealand Prime Minister Geoffrey Palmer and former Colombian President Alvaro Uribe and presented to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Sept. 2, the UN panel’s report on the Mavi Marmara labeled the Israeli raid as “excessive and unreasonable,” but also claimed that due to Israel’s security concerns, its blockade of Gaza is legal. The UN panel also blamed Turkey and flotilla organizers for contributing to the deaths.

Palmer and Uribe were authorized to write the report even though consensus or unanimity was not established by the UN inquiry committee which consisted of Turkish and Israeli representatives. The report was published even though Israel and Turkey had not signed it.

The report contradicted an earlier report on the Gaza flotilla incident that found Israeli forces had violated international law when they raided the flotilla. That report had been prepared in September by three human rights experts appointed by the UN’s top human rights body.

Turkey expelled Israel’s envoy and froze military cooperation with Jerusalem after the release of the Palmer-Uribe report on the deaths of nine Turks in the Israeli raid on the Mavi Marmara failed to trigger an apology.

Professor John Mearsheimer

According to Mearsheimer, Turkey’s reaction to the report was correct.

“Indeed, I admire how Turkey has acted toward Israel in recent years. I think it is about time that someone stood up to Israel and said loudly and clearly that its behavior toward the Palestinians is morally reprehensible and must be stopped,” he said.

Walt said that hard-line defenders of Israel will “undoubtedly try to demonize Turkey” and undermine US-Turkish relations.

“But Turkey can protect itself by explaining its position carefully, maintaining its democratic character, and emphasizing its desire for good relations with Washington,” he added.

Answering our questions, Professor Mearsheimer elaborated on the issue.

What is your assessment of the Palmer-Uribe report that the blockade on Gaza was characterized as being “both legal and appropriate,” contradicting the UN Human Rights Council fact-finding mission, which had said both the attack on the Mavi Marmara and the Gaza blockade were illegal?

I think the Palmer-Uribe report is a fundamentally flawed document. It is simply not possible to make the case that the blockade of Gaza, which is a clear-cut case of collective punishment, is legal under existing international law. Furthermore, the four-member committee could not determine what really happened on the Mavi Marmara because it had no power to call witnesses and gather evidence. It had to rely instead on reports from the Israeli and Turkish governments, and everyone knows that Israel has no interest in getting all the facts about the Mavi Marmara out on the table. So, the findings were just not credible. Finally, any committee that has as a member, a serial human rights violator, like Columbian President Uribe cannot be taken seriously. In sum, the Palmer-Uribe report was worthless.

What do you think about Turkey’s reaction? Some criticized it as being too strong and harsh against an old ally.

I think Turkey’s reaction to the report was correct. Indeed, I admire how Turkey has acted toward Israel in recent years. I think it is about time that someone stood up to Israel and said loudly and clearly that its behavior toward the Palestinians is morally reprehensible and must be stopped. The Palestinians deserve a state of their own. Some will say [Prime Minister Recep Tayyip] Erdoğan is anti-Israel. I don’t believe this for a second. I think he is simply criticizing Israeli policy in the Occupied Territories and is not challenging the legitimacy of Israel in any way. Hopefully, more countries in the Arab and Islamic world will follow his lead.

Turkey is planning to challenge Israel’s blockade of the Gaza Strip at the International Court of Justice [ICJ]. How do you think the case would evolve in The Hague, if Turkey took it to the ICJ?

If the case is taken to the ICJ, I think the Israelis fear that the ICJ would find the blockade illegal, and if I had to bet, I think the court would do just that.

Do you think following the Palmer-Uribe report conclusions it has now become legitimate to attack civilian ships in international waters?

I don’t think so, for two reasons: First, it is widely recognized that the Palmer-Uribe report is largely worthless and second, it is widely recognized that it is not legal to attack civilian ships in international waters.

One of the nine killed Turkish citizens was also an American citizen Furkan Doğan. Yet there was almost no reaction at all from the US on the deadly flotilla attack. How can one explain the lack of any reaction? The Israel lobby, maybe? Prime Minister Erdoğan said recently that he had asked President Barack Obama why the US did not react to the killing of one its citizens, but he did not get a reply…

It is easy to explain why the United States has shown hardly any interest in Israel’s killing of Furkan Doğan, who [was also] an American citizen. It is because of the power of the Israel lobby, which makes it almost impossible for any US president to get tough with Israel, even when it kills Americans. Remember, Israel attacked the USS Liberty in June 1967 and killed 34 American sailors and wounded another 170. The Israelis maintain that it was a case of mistaken identity. Hardly anyone who was on that ship accepts that explanation. Many other Americans agree with them. Yet there has never been a meaningful investigation of that horrific incident. Also remember that an Israeli bulldozer killed Rachel Corrie in the Gaza Strip in March 2003 when she was peacefully protesting the demolition of a Palestinian home. The US government has done hardly anything to seek justice for her and her family.

With the democratic movements sweeping the Middle East — the Arab Awakening — Israel has seen no problem in “losing” Turkey despite many calls on the Israeli government to apologize. What sort of a Middle East should Israel brace for in the coming months and years?

Israel is deeply worried about its fractured relationship with Turkey and with Egypt; those two countries were once solid allies and they played a key role in allowing Israel to brutalize the Palestinians. But thankfully those days are gone, and Israel is being isolated in the Middle East for its behavior toward the Palestinians.

Critics of the Turkish government argue that Ankara will pay dearly for expelling the Israeli ambassador as the Israel lobby machine has already started to roll in the US Congress and the administration — for example, the Armenian “genocide” resolutions may be passed. What will the repercussions be in the US? How do you think the Israel lobby will react? How will the Obama administration react?

There is no question that the lobby will cause some problems for Turkey in the United States, especially with Congress. That is life in America today. Pro-Israeli forces assail anyone who criticizes Israeli policy or America’s special relationship with Israel. But in the end, there is not much that the lobby can do to hurt Turkey, especially since Washington needs Turkey to remain an ally.

Do you see any connection between the departure of the Israeli ambassador from Egypt and Turkey’s expulsion of the Israeli ambassador after the report? Some argue that Turkey’s attitude has created a chain reaction which will also effect others…

I think the two cases are very different and not connected. Turkey expelled the Israeli ambassador, but Egypt did not. The Israeli ambassador to Egypt left the country because protestors stormed the Israeli embassy and he feared for his life. As I said above, I hope that Turkey’s attitude toward Israel creates a chain reaction in the region and moreover I hope that Israel’s growing isolation helps cause it to change its policies toward the Palestinians. Unfortunately, I don’t think that is going to happen anytime soon. But let’s hope I am wrong.

Professor Walt: Hard-line defenders of Israel will undoubtedly try to demonize Turkey and undermine US-Turkish relations

Professor of International Affairs Stephen Walt

In this part of the interview, Professor Walt also answered our questions.

What is your assessment of the Palmer-Uribe report in which the blockade on Gaza is characterized as “both legal and appropriate,” contradicting the UN Human Rights Council fact-finding mission which said both the attack on Mavi Marmara and the Gaza blockade were illegal?

I believe the Palmer-Uribe report is mistaken about the legality of the Gaza blockade. It is permissible for Israel to halt the shipment of weapons into Gaza, but not to block delivery of other items and not to prevent exports out of Gaza. These actions are punitive, and should end immediately.

What do you think about Turkey’s reaction — lowering diplomatic representation, expelling the Israeli ambassador, suspending all military agreements, helping those to file a suit against Israel, to take the blockade to the International Court of Justice and not recognize the blockade? Is this excessive or striking the right balance?

Turkey’s reaction is appropriate, insofar as it as peaceful and diplomatic response in the context of an ongoing dispute. I do hope that Turkey and Israel are able to resolve the disagreement, because a more cooperative relationship would contribute to stability in this volatile region.

Do you think following the Palmer-Uribe report conclusions it has now become legitimate to attack civilian ships in international waters?

No. Whether such an attack would be legal or not depends entirely on the specific context. It would be a grave mistake to interpret the report as providing broad justification for such attacks.

One of the nine Turkish citizens killed on board was also an American citizen. Yet there was almost no reaction at all from US on the deadly flotilla attack. How can one explain the lack of any reaction? The Israel lobby, maybe?

The weak US response to the incident is another sign of its inability to act as an effective and even-handed mediator in this conflict, and this is mostly due to the political power of AIPAC [American Israel Public Affairs Committee] and other hard line groups in the Israel lobby.

Many Turks believe US worked behind the scenes for a report that would strongly support Israeli claims, which actually turned out to be the case. Do you see any credibility in these claims?

I don’t know if this is true or not, but it certainly would not surprise me.

With the report, Israel has “lost” Turkey. How do you think this will affect regional politics?

I don’t think Israel has “lost” Turkey permanently, especially if the Netanyahu government reconsiders its position and offers a formal apology. I hope this occurs, because cooperation between Turkey and Israel could be very helpful in dealing with other tensions in the region.

With the democratic movements sweeping the Middle East — the Arab Awakening– Israel has seen no problem in “losing” Turkey despite many calls on the Israeli government to apologize. What sort of a Middle East should Israeli brace for in the coming months and years?

If Israel continues the occupation, it will gradually become even more isolated in the region and the world. On the other hand, if it ends the occupation and allows the Palestinians to have a state of their own, then its image will improve and it will have little difficulty building strong relationships with its neighbors. I hope that happens, and I hope that the United States, the EU, Turkey and other major powers work together toward that goal.

Critics of the Turkish government argue that Ankara will pay dearly for expelling the Israeli ambassador as the Israel lobby machine has already started to roll in the US Congress and the administration — for example, the Armenian “genocide” resolutions may pass. What will the repercussions be in the US? How do you think the Israel lobby will react? How will the Obama administration react?

Hard-line defenders of Israel will undoubtedly try to demonize Turkey and undermine US-Turkish relations, but Turkey can protect itself by explaining its position carefully, maintaining its democratic character, and emphasizing its desire for good relations with Washington.