Turkey’s leader is threatening to send the NATO heavyweight’s troops into Israel to intervene on behalf of Palestinians in an escalation of rhetoric that raises fears of wider regional conflict.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan told a meeting of his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) in the northeastern city of Rize on the Black Sea that Turkey “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 will do the same to them,” Erdoğan said.
Erdoğan often makes rhetorical flourishes to appeal to his core Islamist support base, but Turkey is also a significant military player — with NATO’s second-biggest military — and he has been willing to make major inventions in the region, including in Syria and Iraq.
Turkey supported Azerbaijan during the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War against Armenia in 2020, though has long denied any direct involvement, and has deployed troops in Libya in support of the United Nations-recognized government since 2020.
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz responded to Erdoğan’s comments in a post on social media on Sunday, comparing him to Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.
“Erdoğan 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.
Erdoğan has been fiercely critical of Israel’s conduct during its conflict with Hamas, accusing Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu of genocide, halting all trade with Israel and recalling the Turkish ambassador. Israel has in turn recalled its diplomats from Turkey and accused Ankara of supporting Hamas and Iran.
Turkey’s foreign ministry also hit out at Netanyahu on Monday, comparing him to Adolf Hitler.
“Just as the end of the genocidal Hitler came, so too will be the end of the genocidal Netanyahu,” Turkey’s foreign ministry said in a statement, according to state news agency Anadolu.
“Just as the genocidal Nazis were held accountable, those who seek to destroy the Palestinians will also be held accountable,” the ministry added. “Humanity will stand with the Palestinians. You will not be able to destroy the Palestinians.”
Israeli strikes on the Bureij and Nuseirat refugee camps in central Gaza have killed dozens in recent days, as fighting rages in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis.
Fears of widening conflict have been inflamed after 12 children were killed in a rocket attack on a football pitch in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights on Saturday. Israel and the U.S. have attributed the attack to Iran-backed Hezbollah, and Israel has vowed to retaliate. Hezbollah has denied any involvement in the rocket attack.
Over 39,000 Palestinians have been killed since Israel launched its offensive in Gaza in response to the Oct. 7 Hamas raid that killed 1,200 Israelis, according to Palestinian health authorities, as the conflict nears its 300th day.
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