The wave of terror in Turkey is continuing unabated, and over the weekend a street mainly crowded with tourists, in the heart of Istanbul, was the target. There were Israelis among the dead and wounded. At first, as per its habit, the Turkish government was quick to blame the underground Kurdish PKK organization for the bombing. Indeed, following other attacks in Ankara in recent weeks the PKK was readily blamed. After all, for decades the Turks and Kurds have been waging a bloody conflict, which has claimed tens of thousands of lives. However, it is growing increasingly clear that the Islamic State group is behind these terrorist acts in Turkey. To be sure, suicide bombings with mass casualties, aimed at the civilian population and foreign tourists, suit Islamic State's agenda more than the Kurds' modus operandi. Islamic State is currently fighting on several fronts in Syria and Iraq against the Americans, Russians, Jordanians and Saudis. Common sense would dictate that the last thing it needs is to open another front with Turkey. But IS operates according to its own logic. It has stubbornly refused to adopt a pragmatic approach, which would serve its purposes and help it in its fight for survival. As a matter of fact, it prefers to take matters to the brink and beyond. Extremism is its bread and butter, and its leaders still believe that lighting the flame that also engulfs its own fighters and supporters is the right way to advance their long-term agenda. Turkey, as we know, is contributing to the anti-Islamic State coalition established by the U.S., making its airports available to coalition jets as they embark on missions to bomb IS targets. We must admit, however, Turkey has avoided taking an active role in the fight against IS, and has not deployed its own soldiers or planes to take part in the fighting. The Turks, meanwhile, have never concealed their view that Islamic State is not the main problem in the region, and that before fighting it the world must first confront Syrian President Bashar Assad and of course the hated Kurds, who they see as a threat to Turkish sovereignty and independence. Ankara's laxness toward IS was first and foremost illustrated by the ease with which it allowed anyone to cross from Turkey into IS-held territory in Syria and Iraq. Consequently, an endless stream of foreign volunteers from across Europe and the Middle East crossed the border to join Islamic State. It also appears the Turks turned a blind eye to goods and even weapons transported over the border. For an organization like Islamic State, however, showing gratitude is not its nature. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is gradually learning that in contrast to his lofty declarations of the past, "Islamic terror" does exist. He is also learning that for the terrorists of IS, he is an inferior Muslim, and it is therefore God's wish that he and his country be targeted. Thus Erdogan is now being made to eat his own stew. His focus on Assad and the Kurds did not grant him immunity in the eyes of Islamic State. Unsurprisingly, he has been criticized at home in recent days over his over-involvement in Syria, which has not only flooded Turkey with too many refugees, but with terrorists as well. In a similar vein, while the Turkish government was quick to condemn and punish the politician who tweeted her wish for all the Israelis wounded in the bombing to die, there is no doubt that the unabated incitement against Israel by Turkey's ruling party, spearheaded by Erdogan himself, is partly responsible for creating the atmosphere that allowed for such a tweet in the first place. It is too early to determine whether IS specifically targeted Israelis, or whether they were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. Either way, the organization's ability to carry out a suicide attack in the heart of Istanbul illustrates its operational and intelligence capabilities, and dramatically raises the threat threshold posed by the group to the stability of the region and beyond. However, in light of the international community's ineffectual fight against IS, and the terrorist infrastructure it has managed to establish via the millions of Syrian and Iraqi refugees flooding Turkey on their way to Europe, we can assume that the next bombing is only a matter of time.
