Erdogan’s move to arrest the mayor of Istanbul, his main presidential rival and his rival’s associates has sparked unforeseen mass protests across Turkey. Will this create mass chaos across the Middle East or allow Israel to finally vanquish its enemies?
The protests have even spread to Ankara the capital and have forced Erdogan to call in the army to defend him against the protestors as well as soldiers stationed in bases in Syria. Erdogan did not expect such a tidal wave of anger towards his move, but protestors are not backing down and have said to have now taken over the Justice Ministry in Ankara. Reports are coming out of Turkey that the rebels who are calling for the overthrow of Erdogan are in control of Gaziantep a city close to Syria of about two million residents.
The protestors who are also being called rebels appear to enjoy widespread support across Turkey with even voices in the parliament coming out and calling for Erdogan’s removal.
This sudden turn of events has massive implications for the region. Until Erdogan’s move to arrest the mayor of Istanbul, Turkey was on the march in Syria and elsewhere. In fact, without Turkey, the new regime in Syria would have little chance of survival. Turkey (during Erdogan’s tenure) and Qatar have always been the Muslim Brotherhood axis in the Sunni world opposing the Sunni Gulf States of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and the UAE. With Turkey quite possible in the throes if what appears to be some sort of revolution or civil war, Qatar has lost the muscle it needs to take control of the Middle East.
The effects on Israel will be felt immediately. Israel can further assert more control over southern Syria as the Jihadists in Damascus can no longer rely on their biggest military backer - the Erdogan government. More than this, Qatar’s ability to project power across the region is clearly waning and with that, Israel can finally push forward and destroy Hamas once and for all.