Palestinians look to Turkey for substance, not show

Although Turkey got its share of praise as the Palestinian flag was raised at the UN, Palestinians are still waiting for practical moves affecting their lives.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas kisses a Palestinian flag before raising it during United Nations General Assembly at the United Nations in Manhattan, New York September 30, 2015. Even though Palestine is not a member of the United Nations, the General Assembly adopted a Palestinian-drafted resolution that permits non-member observer states to fly their flags alongside those of full member states. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RTS2H7E
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas kisses a Palestinian flag before raising it during the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Sept. 30, 2015. - REUTERS/Andrew Kelly
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Fehim Tastekin
@fehimtastekin
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The raising of the Palestinian flag at the UN headquarters in New York was a heartwarming occasion for Turkey.

Turkey won a lot of kudos by taking a firm stand on the Palestinian side in the flag issue, as it did in 2012 when it backed promoting Palestine from nonmember observer organization status to nonmember observer state status. The Justice and Development Party (AKP) government naturally made maximum use of the prestige that was accrued.

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