Ankara, 26 October 2023 (TDI): The President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan canceled a planned trip to Israel on Wednesday on the grounds of humanitarian implications in Gaza, where he accused Israel of committing crimes against humanity.
Addressing his ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party’s parliamentary group meeting in Ankara, he said that the meeting was intended before October 7, the outburst of the recent war in Gaza, but then changed his mind.
Although Turkey has no issues with Israel, he declared that it would never support its crimes against the Palestinian people.
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Additionally, he asserted that Turkey was the only nation that had been free of antisemitism for centuries and that it had taken in Jews who had been driven from other nations during the Ottoman era and World War II.
Announcing his cancellation of a planned trip to Israel, Erdogan also praised Hamas as “liberators” who have taken up arms to “protect their lands and people”.
Moreover, He claimed that Hamas was a mujahideen organization that resisted Israeli occupation and that Western nations that classified it as a terrorist organization were mistaken.
Last month, during a UN summit in New York, Erdogan had his first in-person meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Both parties talked about potential collaboration in fields like energy, technology, and cybersecurity.
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But as Israel continues to bombard Gaza, killing over 6,500 people and destroying much of the infrastructure in the region, the Turkish leader is retreating once more and canceling his planned trip to Israel.
“Of course, we had good intentions, but [Netanyahu] abused them,” said Erdogan.
He continued, “If he had continued with good intentions, our relations might have been different, but now, unfortunately, this will not happen either.”
Turkey’s Stance on the Palestine-Israel war
On the occasion of the 78th Anniversary of the Establishment of the United Nations Organization, the Presidency of the Republic of Turkey released a statement that condemned Israel’s indiscriminate actions against Palestinians. Moreover, he criticized the United Nations Security Council for deepening the crisis through its “unilateral attitude.”
“The international community is not rising to the challenge in the face of the Israeli regime’s unlawful and unrestrained attacks against civilians,” Erdogan said. He continued that the people of Gaza are suffering from “collective punishment”.
