Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced Wednesday that he would welcome Ismail Haniyeh, political leader of Hamas, during a speech to parliament in Ankara riddled with anti-Israeli clichés.
Erdogan praised the terrorist group, which on October 7 carried out the worst single-day massacre of Jews since the Holocaust, calling it a liberation movement.
The Turkish leader boasted that his country supported Hamas when no one else did.
While everyone was silent, we defined Hamas as a resistance organization and not a terrorist organization, Erdogan said.
From the podium of the UN, I declared and showed with maps that Israel had occupied Palestinian lands. We have always stood by our Palestinian brothers in every way, he said, adding that I will continue to make the voice of the Palestinian people heard.
Erdogan has accused Israel of being behind several Turkish coup attempts in recent decades.
Let us not forget the military coup of September 12, 1980, which took place immediately after the great demonstration for Jerusalem in [Turkish] Konya city. Remember the military coup of February 28, 1997, which took place immediately after Jerusalem Night in Ankara. [Province]. Remember, the 2016 failed coup attempt was carried out by Zionist minions, he said.
All these measures were taken to break our sensitivity to the Palestinian struggle. From here I declare: we will not bow our heads or give up in the face of your attacks, such as military coups, economic attacks, assassination attempts and psychological warfare, Erdogan said.
A film was shown highlighting Turkey's actions in favor of the Palestinians. The crowd chanted Death to Israel from the podium.
In local elections on March 31, Erdogan's Justice and Development Party (AKP) suffered its worst defeat since coming to power in 2003.
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz attributed the historic defeat to the AK Party's hostility toward the Jewish state.
Although ties between Turkey and Israel deteriorated in 2010, it appears that relationship The situation would improve if Erdogan agrees to meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the sidelines of the 78th annual meeting of the United Nations General Assembly in New York in September 2023.
However, just weeks later, Hamas terrorists invaded Israel, killing some 1,200 people and kidnapping more than 240 others. Erdogan supported Hamas.
Sacrifice economic interests
In April, Ankara announced export restrictions against Israel after Jerusalem rejected a Turkish request to airdrop aid into the Gaza Strip.
Erdogan's government said the trade measures would apply to 54 product categories and last until a ceasefire is declared.
Katz said Erdogan is once again sacrificing the economic interests of the Turkish people for his support of Hamas murderers in Gaza who raped, murdered and desecrated the bodies of women, girls and adults, and burned children alive .
Israel will not submit to violence and extortion, will not ignore the unilateral violation of our trade agreements and will take parallel measures against Turkey that will harm the Turkish economy, he added.
Last month,Erdogancompared Netanyahu and his government to Nazi Germany.
Netanyahu and his administration, with their crimes against humanity in Gaza, write their names next to Hitler, Mussolini and Stalin, like today's Nazis, he said.
The Israeli leader continues to commit massacres against the Palestinian people, he continued, adding that Turkey would do what is necessary to hold Israeli officials accountable.
Netanyahu blasted the Turkish leader for the remarks, saying Israel respects the laws of war and will not be subjected to the moral sermons of Erdogan, who supports [the] murderers and rapists of the terrorist organization Hamas, denies the Armenian genocide, massacres the Kurds in his own country and represses opponents of the regime and journalists.
In November,Erdogantold his country's parliament that Israel would soon be destroyed.
Israeli-Turkish relations have experienced a long cold spell, mainly due to Erdogan's hostile response to the 2008-2009 Gaza War (Operation Cast Lead) and the 2010 war. Blue Marmara protest flotilla.
Relations thawed in 2022 and countries agreed to fully restorediplomatic relations.
With the outbreak of the current war between Israel and Hamas, ties deteriorated again and Jerusalem felt forced in October to recall its diplomats due to increasingly harsh statements from the Turkish government.
