Can Erdogan shed his duplicity and do something right?

Turkey is the only country that recognizes and maintains diplomatic relations with Israel and, at the same time, enjoys warm relations with Hamas. Erdogan can utilize his unique position to start a conversation with Hamas leaders and awaken them to the reality of Israel from which they cannot escape. Israeli-Palestinian relations have indeed reached their nadir, and they have not been as poisonous as they currently are since 1948. But then, when there is a breakdown in a relationship of such magnitude, it also offers a historic opportunity for a breakthrough.

Hamas has successfully, though in a horrific way, changed the dynamic of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and can claim victory even though they are being crushed in Gaza. Hamas brought back the two-state solution to the table to which the Palestinians badly aspire, and in a bizarre way, Hamas has significantly advanced that prospect.

We do not know with certainty how and when the Gaza war will end, but we certainly know one thing. Both Hamas, in one form or another, and Israel will still be there at the end, and both must choose where they want to go from here. Erdogan now has a golden opportunity to use his influence on Hamas to moderate its position toward Israel, be a peacemaker instead of a warmonger, and open the door, however slightly, to a process of reconciliation, which is a prerequisite to reaching a lasting Israeli-Palestinian peace.