Turkey's leader threatened military intervention in Israel on Sunday to stop Jerusalem's war on Gaza, in a major escalation of rhetoric from NATO's second-largest military.
In a meeting with his Justice and Development Party (AKP), President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Turkey “must be very strong so that Israel cannot do these ridiculous things to Palestine.”
“Just like we went into Karabakh, just like we went into Libya, we could do something similar,” he said, according to a Reuters report.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan speaks during a joint statement to the media in Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, April 22, 2024. Turkey's president criticized the Eurovision Song Contest on Monday, May 20, 2024, accusing the annual event of allegedly encouraging “gender neutralization” and threatening the traditional family. (Ahmad Al-Rubaye/Pool Photo via AP)
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Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz responded forcefully, suggesting that Erdoğan would meet a fate as deadly as that of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, who was executed by hanging in 2006.
“Erdoğan is following in the footsteps of Saddam Hussein and threatening to attack Israel. Let him remember what happened there and how it ended,” Katz said in a message posted on X that included a photo of Erdoğan and the former Iraqi leader.
Israel Defense Forces are seen operating in Rafah, a city in the Gaza Strip. (IDF Spokesperson's Office)
Fox News Digital was not immediately able to reach the U.S. State Department, the Turkish Embassy in Washington, D.C., or NATO for comment on how they are working to calm tensions between the NATO nation and the West's main ally in the Middle East.
The threats made by the Turkish president come at a time when Israel is facing increasing aggression from Iran-backed Islamic militants, including terrorist groups Hamas, the Houthis and Hezbollah.
Erdoğan did not give details of what a Turkish military intervention would entail, although he has repeatedly been a harsh critic of the war in Gaza.
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Displaced Palestinians arrive in central Gaza after fleeing Rafah on Thursday, May 9. (AP/Abdel Kareem Hana)
“There is no reason why we cannot do this… We must be strong to be able to take these steps,” Erdogan told AKP officials.
The Turkish leader appeared to be referring to the military action that Ankara, Turkey's capital, took in 2020 when it sent troops to defend Libya's UN-recognized Government of National Accord amid its civil war, which first broke out in 2014.
Turkey has denied direct involvement in Azerbaijan's military action in its Nagorno-Karabakh region, where it claims to be carrying out “anti-terrorist” operations against Armenian rebels. However, in 2023, Ankara is reported to have said it was using “all means” to support its ally, including military training.
Smoke rises during an Israeli strike near al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City on March 28, 2024, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas. (AFP Photo)
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not publicly responded to Erdoğan's comments, though he and the Turkish leader have regularly exchanged harsh criticism over the years.
Both Netanyahu and Erdoğan have compared themselves to Adolf Hitler over Turkey's protracted war against Kurdish militants and Israel's hostile action against Palestinians.
