Erdogan says Israel's increasingly threatening rhetoric against Lebanon is 'deeply worrying' for regional peace

ANKARA

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has warned that Israel's increased aggression and threatening tone against Lebanon pose a major threat to the future and security of the region.

“No state in our region, including Turkey, can feel safe unless Israeli aggression is carried out under its control. [Israeli Prime Minister] “Netanyahu's administration is stopped,” Erdoan told reporters after a cabinet meeting in the capital Ankara on Tuesday.

Erdogan called Netanyahu a murderer and reiterated that if the Western world continues to support him while the Islamic world remains silent, Israel will continue its occupation policy at the “cost of dragging our entire region into the fire.”

Erdoan said Turkey constantly stresses that the Gaza crisis will not be limited to Gaza and that Israeli atrocities could have serious consequences as it pursues expansionist goals on all fronts, adding that missile tensions with Iran and increased attacks on Lebanon justify these concerns.

Israel launched its war on Gaza in retaliation for Hamas attacks on October 7 that killed more than 1,190 people, mostly civilians, according to official Israeli figures.

The Israeli offensive has killed more than 37,900 people in Gaza, mostly civilians, according to the Hamas-controlled territory's health ministry.

The war has also led to rising tensions on Israel's northern border with Lebanon, where the army exchanges almost daily fire with the Iran-backed Hezbollah movement, a key Hamas ally, raising fears of a wider conflict.

Erdogan has been a vocal critic of Israel's brutal military campaign in Gaza, frequently lambasting the Netanyahu administration and the Western powers that back it.

“I must once again warn you. We are dealing with a murderer who does not meet the basic standards of a statesman, who has lost his mind and conscience and who has succumbed to his ambitions. This tyrant, who lives off the blood of innocents, does not even care about the safety of his own citizens in order to prolong his political career,” he said.

Erdoan stressed the importance of peace, dialogue and diplomacy, stressing the need to strengthen mutual dialogue with neighboring countries while increasing solidarity among Islamic nations.

Ankara has repeatedly called on the UN Security Council and the United States to pressure Israel to accept a ceasefire proposal and end the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

“Insidious trap”

Regarding the recent tensions in Syria, Erdoan said that Turkey was only defending its homeland against separatist intentions and would not fall into this “insidious trap.”

Regarding Turkey's foreign policy, Erdogan said that it is beneficial to “open closed fists” and not hesitate to meet with whoever is necessary.

He said: “Of course, we will put Trkiye's interests first in doing so, but we will not allow anyone who trusts us, takes refuge in our homes or acts in partnership with us to suffer in this process.”

Erdogan said Ankara was actively working to find a political solution to tensions in Syria and had taken concrete steps to prevent bloodshed.

He said Trkiye will continue to ensure the security of “our country and our people” as long as there are “bloodthirsty groups” in Syria with their weapons pointed in its direction.

Erdoan said that Turkey has prioritized preserving Syria's territorial integrity and national unity, while dealing the hardest blow to the terrorist state that is expected to be established along its southern borders with the PKK and ISIS. Erdoan stressed the desire to see Syria become a democratic, prosperous and strong nation rather than a nation plagued by instability and dominated by terrorist organizations.

He stressed that 670,000 people have returned to the settlements in northern Syria cleared of terrorism by Trkiye, and that another million people are expected to return when the projects are completed.

After a crime committed by a Syrian national in the central city of Kayseri on Sunday, Trkiye, home to 3.6 million Syrian refugees who fled the civil war in 2012, is facing violence and negative trends on social media.

Erdoğan addressed the violence and riots that erupted following the crime, saying that Turkey “will approach the refugee crisis in a rational and conscientious manner, based on the realities of the country and the economy, rather than on prejudices or fears.”

He stressed that public order is a red line for the state and it will not tolerate any violation of this line.

Similar riots broke out in cities such as Antalya and Gaziantep, but they were smaller in scale.

“Just as we know how to break the dirty hands that reach out to our flag, we also know how to break the hands that reach out to the innocent who have found refuge in our country,” the president said.