Foreign Minister Eli Cohen on Saturday recalled Israeli diplomatic representatives from Turkey "in order to conduct a reassessment of Israel-Turkey relations," in a statement he made on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Cohen made this statement shortly after Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan repeated his assertion that Hamas was not a terrorist organization and described Israel as an occupier.
Erdogan made this address at one of the largest pro-Palestinian rallies, which took place in Istanbul since the Israel-Hamas war began. Erdogan called called the terrorist group "freedom fighters" this week.
National Unity Party MK Gideon Sa'ar posted that "Erdogan is the same Erdogan and it is obligatory to present him as he is: a patron of Hamas, an instigator, a definite Israel hater, and one of the greatest antisemites of our generation.
"He will always try to gain legitimacy when he is in need and join our enemies when we are in need," he continued. "I suggested to Foreign Minister Cohen to recall Israel's ambassador to Turkey for consultations and I welcome his decision." Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan in Sochi, Russia, September 4, 2023. (credit: MURAT CETINMUHURDAR/PPO/HANDOUT VIA REUTERS)
"Erdogan is the same Erdogan and it is obligatory to present him as he is: a patron of Hamas, an instigator, a definite Israel hater, and one of the greatest antisemites of our generation." Gideon Saar
Culture and Sports Minister Miki Zohar accused Erdogan on Wednesday of supporting terrorism and that the "time has come to recalculate a course in our relations with Turkey." Advertisement
ManyBends on October 28th, 2023 at 18:54 UTC »
I've said it before and I'll say it again. Erdogan will turncoat on the West as soon as things get heavy. Despite our supposed "alliance" I hope we have contingencies for this. I'm sure we do.
tortilla_curtain on October 28th, 2023 at 18:53 UTC »
As a Turk i hope Türkiye leaves Nato. We don’t gain anything from the alliance. There is no real threat for us we couldn’t handle ourselves.
Hidden-Syndicate on October 28th, 2023 at 17:22 UTC »
He went beyond just that. He also delivered a speech to a standing ovation that the Turkish military was ready to intervene in Gaza and would take that step should Israel continue with its offensive which he labeled a genocide.
It’s likely all talk, but Turkey won’t be getting those F-16’s anytime soon from the US which likely means Sweden won’t be joining NATO until there is some reproachment between Ankara and Washington or Erdogan pushes the buck too far and ends up with Turkey removed from the alliance.
There aren’t current mechanisms for it, but I know France and the UK would support removing Turkey. France has clashed with Turkey in proxy wars in Libya and the Mediterranean over the last decade. The trading of Turkey for Sweden would be a net loss I believe given the size and abilities of the Turkish armed forces in addition to the geographical location. The 50 US nukes stationed at the Turkish airbase in southern Turkey would also be a very scary point of contention given he (Erdogan) has said he would use his military to stop the US from removing them if they tried.