Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has openly threatened to invade Israel in support of the Palestinians amidst escalating fears of a war with Hezbollah, which is a shocking statement coming from a member of NATO, the international alliance of Western nations.
During a televised party meeting on Sunday, Erdogan stated, “We 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 might do similar to them.” He further added, “There is no reason why we cannot do this.”
Erdogan’s strained relationship with Israel has been ongoing, with recent condemnations of Israel over its actions in Gaza, firm support for Hamas, and negative remarks about Benjamin Netanyahu.
His threat to invade Israel is linked to Turkey’s military assistance to Azerbaijan in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and their support of Azerbaijan through arms sales, which resulted in the ethnic cleansing of Armenians from the region. Turkey has also deployed troops to Libya post the civil war in 2020.
Israeli officials have swiftly condemned Erdogan’s comments, with Foreign Minister Israel Katz comparing him to Saddam Hussein and reminding him of the consequences of past actions.
Erdogan’s rhetoric and actions have intensified in the wake of the Israel-Hamas conflict, with Turkey halting all trade with Israel in May, affecting various markets.
It is worth noting that Turkey is a member of NATO, and Erdogan’s comments go against the alliance’s commitment to mutual security and defensive aid in case of an attack. Despite the stark departure from NATO’s expectations, criticism has been relatively subdued, with only the Netherlands calling for Turkey’s expulsion from the alliance.
Geert Wilders, a prominent figure in the Netherlands known for his stance against Islam in Europe, labeled Erdogan as an “Islamofascist” and called for Turkey’s removal from NATO.