Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan suggested that Ankara could consider using military force against Israel if necessary, citing Turkey’s military interventions in Libya and Nagorno-Karabakh. “Erdogan is following in the footsteps of Saddam Hussein, let him remember how he ended up,” Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz responded.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan
/MICHAEL REYNOLDS /PAP/EPA
Speaking in his hometown of Rize on Sunday, Erdogan stressed the need for Turkey to show force in response to Israel’s military actions in the Gaza Strip.
If we are strong, Israel cannot behave in this way towards Palestine. Just as we intervened in Karabakh and Libya, we can do the same to them. There would be no reason not to do so, he said.
Who can guarantee that those who are destroying Gaza today will not turn their attention to Anatolia tomorrow? – asked the Turkish leader.
State-run Anadolu Agency omitted this part of the president’s speech in the version it circulated among its subscribers.
These words were commented on by Israeli diplomat Israel Kac.
“Erdogan is following in the footsteps of Saddam Hussein and threatening to attack Israel. He should simply remember what happened then and how it ended,” he wrote on social media.
Turkey played a direct role in the Second Karabakh War between Armenia and Azerbaijan, supplying military drones to the latter. In Libya’s 2020 civil war, it helped the UN-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli repel an offensive by warlord Khalifa Haftar’s forces, backed by Russian mercenaries.
Relations between Israel and Turkey have deteriorated sharply since the Palestinian-Israeli conflict intensified in early October 2023. In response to Israel’s accusations of war crimes, the Israeli Foreign Ministry recalled some of its diplomats from Ankara. Turkey recalled its ambassador to Tel Aviv for consultations.
