Turkey’s Approach to State-Building in the Palestinian Territories in the 2000s and 2010s

The 21st century witnessed a significant expansion of the Republic of Turkey’s role in the Middle East. Ankara’s re-emergence on the regional political stage was closely linked to its increasing engagement in resolution of regional issues and protracted conflicts, particularly, the conflict between the Palestinians and Israel. Pro-Palestinian stance of Turkey consolidated further in 2000–2010, when development assistance to the Palestinian Territories has become an increasingly important aspect of the Republic’s Middle Eastern policy. This paper examines the evolution of the Turkish-Palestinian cooperation on a range of issues from economic recovery and statebuilding to security sector reform and addressing the most urgent humanitarian challenges in the region. Special attention is paid to the role of Turkey in the development of the Palestinian-Israeli economic cooperation. In this connection the author focuses on the work of the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) and of the so-called Ankara Forum, particularly, in the framework of the ‘Industry for Peace’ project. Turkey sought to revitalize the Erez industrial zone and positioned it as an example of a successful implementation of the conflict- sensitive development project. However, in the view of a deterioration of inter- national situation in the Middle East in the second half of the 2000s this and other large-scale regional initiatives of the Republic of Turkey faced some un- expected challenges. As a result the Turkish government has shifted the focus of its assistance from economic programs to capacity-building and strengthening security sector through local projects sensitive to the needs of the local population