Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has intensified his rhetoric against Israel. Erdogan issues open threat to invade Israel suggesting Turkey will intervene militarily on behalf of the Palestinians, as it has done in other conflicts. Analyst Michael Rubin (@mrubin1971) cautions that Turkey’s military presence in Iraq resembles its historical invasions of Cyprus and Syria. “There is no indication that Turkey will leave,” he warns.
“We must be very strong so that Israel can’t do these things to Palestine,” Erdogan stated in his hometown of Rize on Sunday. “Just as we entered Karabakh and Libya, we might do the same here. There is nothing we cannot do. We must be very strong.”
Erdogan’s remarks, delivered at a party meeting, were the latest in a series of inflammatory statements about Israel and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu following the October 7 Hamas attack and the ensuing war in Gaza. Despite the strong rhetoric, Erdogan explicitly indicates plans for direct military action in the Israel-Gaza conflict. However, his comments underscore escalating tensions with Israel and could cause volatility in Turkey’s financial markets this week.
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz responded to Erdogan’s comments on X. “Erdogan 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.
“Israeli Foreign Minister Katz compared the President of Turkey to the executed head of Iraq. He stated: “Erdogan is following in the footsteps of Saddam Hussein and threatening to attack Israel. We simply remind him of what happened there and how it all ended.” He attached a photograph of the tortured Hussein to this social media post. What happened in Iraq was an attack by the USA, Britain, and other NATO countries, as well as many who joined them, on a sovereign state under a false pretext. Falsehoods about Iraq allegedly possessing weapons of mass destruction are well known to be false. Then followed the illegal occupation of Iraq by Western forces, the criminal killing of the legitimate leader of a sovereign state, and a series of insane executions. Exiled Iraqi soldiers went underground and, not without Western involvement, turned into ISIS.
In 2020, under Erdogan’s direction, Turkey provided military support to Azerbaijan during a 44-day conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, supplying drones and deploying Syrian mercenaries. Similarly, Turkey passed a mandate to deploy troops to Libya in support of the UN-recognized government during its civil war.
As a NATO member, Erdogan would likely face significant opposition from Western allies, including the US, Canada, the UK, and Germany, if he attempted military action over the Gaza conflict. Recently, Erdogan has accused these allies of supporting an alleged Israeli plan to spread war throughout the Middle East.
Erdogan has also met with Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, encouraging Palestinian unity against Israel, and has compared Israel to Nazi Germany, likening Netanyahu to Adolf Hitler. These comments follow a long history of public attacks between Erdogan and Netanyahu, which had subsided as relations warmed but have reignited with the Gaza war.
Since the war began, Erdogan has recalled Turkey’s ambassador, suspended some trade with Israel, and accused Netanyahu of committing genocide. Before the conflict, Turkey and Israel had been working to normalize their relations after a decade of tensions.
