Opinion: Why the Mecca Agreement is a necessary show of force

It will be three years in October since Israel started its genocide in Gaza, a war crime it has repeated in the Occupied West Bank, South Lebanon, and Iran. 

For much of that time, Turkey and the Arab world held up their hands in horror but did nothing. "What can we do? Start a war with Israel?" the collective cry of the impotent went.

This line was frequently heard in Ankara which continued, despite a trade embargo, to allow Azerbaijani oil to flow through one of its ports and into the eager hands of the Israeli military.

Turkey did stop an Israeli and US armed ground incursion of Iran by Iranian Kurdish militias. And Saudi Arabia has honourably refused to normalise with Israel, absent a credible path to a Palestinian state.

Read more: Why the Mecca Agreement is a necessary show of force Opinion by David Hearst