Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, an avowed Islamist and one of the loudest world leaders supporting the Hamas jihadist terror organization, threatened to invade Israel on Sunday.
“We must be very strong so that Israel cannot strike Palestine,” Erdogan told the audience at a rally for his Islamist Justice and Development Party (AKP), according to Israel’s i24. “Just like we entered Karabakh and the way we entered Libya, maybe we’ll do the same thing. There’s nothing we can’t do. We have to be strong.”
Under Erdogan, Turkey has engaged in foreign interventionism for nearly a decade, sending troops into Syria in 2016 to allegedly “end the rule of the tyrant [Bashar] Assad,” but in reality, attacking U.S.-allied Kurdish groups. Turkey has also been active militarily in neighboring Iraq, similarly targeting Kurdish groups at the time fighting the jihadist Islamic State “caliphate.” In Nagorno-Karabakh, a disputed territory between Armenia and Azerbaijan, Turkey, supplied its popular, relatively affordable Bayraktar drones to its Azeri allies, marking a decisive turn in the conflict that resulted in the completion of the genocide of Armenian Christians in the area.
Erdogan also announced an invasion of Libya in 2020 to defend the internationally recognized “Government of National Accord” (GNA) from an ongoing siege by Russia-backed warlord Khalifa Haftar. Turkish involvement in the conflict helped the GNA keep control of Tripoli through several attempts at conquest by Haftar, though Libya currently remains fractured and unstable, as neither political force has completely subdued the other.
Reports on the Turkish president’s comments on Sunday did not clarify if intervention in Israel would be a direct Turkish military action or Erdogan would consider selling Bayraktar drones or other equipment to Hamas, which Ankara enthusiastically supports. The Jerusalem Post added the context that Erdogan made the threat while “praising his country’s defense industry,” potentially a nod to the introduction of Bayraktars to the ongoing conflict in Gaza.
“We must be very strong so that Israel can’t do these ridiculous things to Palestine [sic],” Erdogan claimed. “There is no reason why we cannot do this.”
The Turkish Foreign Ministry supported Erdogan’s remarks with a statement later that day comparing Israel to Nazi Germany and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Adolf Hitler.
“Just as the genocidal Nazis were held accountable, those who seek to destroy the Palestinians will also be held accountable,” the Turkish Foreign Ministry claimed.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan independently praised Erdogan, claiming in a social media post that the president “has become the voice of humanity’s conscience.”
“Those who seek to silence this just voice, especially international Zionist circles including Israel, are in a state of great panic,” Fidan wrote. “History has ended the same way for all genocidal perpetrators and their supporters.”
Erdogan made remarks on Saturday that suggest that any cooperation with “Palestine” would occur with Hamas, not the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank. The Turkish president claimed in remarks that day that Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas had somehow offended him and demanded an apology before any further cooperation.
“Some political parties in my country say ‘the government should invite the Palestinian president to Türkiye and have him speak in parliament.’ Who is telling you that we did not do that?” Erdoğan reportedly asked, according to Turkish newspaper Hurriyet. “Mr. Abbas, sorry but, he should first apologize to us… We are waiting, let’s see if he can come.”
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz replied to Erdogan in a statement comparing him to another genocidal leader, Iraq’s Saddam Hussein.
“Erdogan is following in the footsteps of Saddam Hussein by threatening to attack Israel. He should remember what happened there and how it ended,” Katz advised:
ארדואן הולך בדרכו של סדאם חוסיין ומאיים לתקוף את ישראל. רק שיזכור מה קרה שם ואיך זה הסתיים.@RTErdogan pic.twitter.com/6GykLtLoh4
— ישראל כ”ץ Israel Katz (@Israel_katz) July 28, 2024
Erdogan’s government regularly compares Israel to Nazi Germany and accuses Israel of “genocide” for conducting self-defense operations against Hamas. Israel declared war on Hamas and began operating in its stronghold of Gaza in October following an unprecedented siege of the country in which swarms of Hamas thugs invaded residential communities and massacred entire families in door-to-door raids. An estimated 1,200 were killed during the October 7 slaughter, including children as young as infants, and survivors recount witnessing extensive torture, gang rape, and other atrocities.
Turkey is widely credited with committing the first genocide in modern history of Armenians, Greeks, Assyrians, and other Christians and non-Turkish people within the territory that ultimately became the Republic of Turkey. Led by the “Young Turks,” the killers exterminated 1.5 million Armenians out of an estimated global population of 2 million. The Turkish government, and Erdogan personally, continue to deny the 1915 genocide to this day, in some cases claiming the Armenians massacred themselves. It is illegal to refer to the Armenian genocide as a “genocide” in Turkey.
Erdogan is a vocal supporter of Hamas and organized a massive rally in October to support the terrorist group’s massacre in Israel that month. The “Great Palestine Rally” reportedly attracted 1.5 million people, who convened to listen to Erdogan claim Hamas “is not a terrorist organization” and suggest Israel does not have a right to exist at all.
“What was Gaza and Palestine in 1947, what is it today? Israel, how did you get here? How did you get in? You are an invader, you are a [terrorist] organization,” Erdogan said.
In May, Erdogan announced that Turkey had offered medical attention to more than 1,000 Hamas terrorists injured in the ongoing Israeli self-defense operation.