Turkey
threatens to ‘enter’ Israel to protect Palestinians
Turkey “must
be very strong so that Israel can’t do these ridiculous things to Palestine,”
the president said.
“Just like
we entered Karabakh, just like we entered Libya, we will do the same to
them," Tayyip Erdoğan said. |
JULY 29,
2024 10:14 AM CET
BY SEB
STARCEVIC
https://www.politico.eu/article/turkey-nato-tayyip-erdogan-threatens-enter-israel-help-palestinians/
Turkey’s
leader is threatening to send the NATO heavyweight's troops into Israel to
intervene on behalf of Palestinians in an escalation of rhetoric that raises
fears of wider regional conflict.
President
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan told a meeting of his ruling Justice and Development Party
(AKP) in the northeastern city of Rize on the Black Sea that Turkey “must be
very strong so that Israel can't do these ridiculous things to Palestine.”
“Just like
we entered Karabakh, just like we entered Libya, we will do [something] similar
exactly to them," Erdoğan said.
Erdoğan
often makes rhetorical flourishes to appeal to his core Islamist support base,
but Turkey is also a significant military player — with NATO's second-biggest
military — and he has been willing to make major interventions in the region,
including in Syria and Iraq.
Turkey
supported Azerbaijan during the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War against Armenia in
2020, though has long denied any direct involvement, and has deployed troops in
Libya in support of the United Nations-recognized government since 2020.
Israeli
Foreign Minister Israel Katz responded to Erdoğan’s comments in a post on
social media on Sunday, comparing him to Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.
“Erdoğan
follows in the footsteps of Saddam Hussein and threatens to attack Israel. Just
let him remember what happened there and how it ended,” he wrote.
Erdoğan has
been fiercely critical of Israel’s conduct during its conflict with Hamas,
accusing Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu of genocide, halting all trade with
Israel and recalling the Turkish ambassador. Israel has in turn recalled its
diplomats from Turkey and accused Ankara of supporting Hamas and Iran.
Turkey’s
foreign ministry also hit out at Netanyahu on Monday, comparing him to Adolf
Hitler.
“Just as the
end of the genocidal Hitler came, so too will be the end of the genocidal
Netanyahu,” Turkey’s foreign ministry said in a statement, according to state
news agency Anadolu.
“Just as the
genocidal Nazis were held accountable, those who seek to destroy the
Palestinians will also be held accountable,” the ministry added. “Humanity will
stand with the Palestinians. You will not be able to destroy the Palestinians.”
Israeli
strikes on the Bureij and Nuseirat refugee camps in central Gaza have killed
dozens in recent days, as fighting rages in the southern Gaza city of Khan
Younis.
Fears of
widening conflict have been inflamed after 12 children were killed in a rocket
attack on a football pitch in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights on Saturday.
Israel and the U.S. have attributed the attack to Iran-backed Hezbollah, and
Israel has vowed to retaliate. Hezbollah has denied any involvement in the
rocket attack.
Over 39,000
Palestinians have been killed since Israel launched its offensive in Gaza in
response to the Oct. 7 Hamas raid that killed 1,200 Israelis, according to
Palestinian health authorities, as the conflict nears its 300th day.
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