'Bombs fired at sleeping Jews': Turkish opposition leader condemns Hamas, Oct. 7

There was anger in Turkey over opposition leader Ozgur Ozel, who said in a TV interview on Saturday that Hamas is a terrorist organization, a stance he has also previously voiced.

Ozel stated, “Hamas rains bombs on innocent people in the middle of the night, with balloons, drones, and I don’t know what else.”

He further argued that accusing fingers are pointed at him when he makes these statements, yet he also stated, “You must see that this issue started there [with Hamas]. What Hamas did was an act of terror. Hamas fired bombs at sleeping Jews in the middle of the night.”

Turkey’s main opposition party, the Republican People’s Party (CHP,) elected Ozel as its new leader in November 2023, replacing Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the Associated Press reported shortly after the elections that year. Following the elections, Ozel vowed to strive for a better political future and “to make people smile,” AP quoted the Turkish opposition leader as saying.

Following Turkey’s economic challenges and the aftermath of the February 2023 earthquakes, dissatisfaction grew within the CHP as the party missed the opportunity to defeat Erdogan in May’s elections that year. Turkey's main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu attends a swearing-in ceremony as he is accompanied by Ozgur Ozel at the Turkish parliament in Ankara, Turkey, June 2, 2023. (credit: REUTERS/UMIT BEKTAS)

Pre-election expectations had suggested strong support for former leader Kılıçdaroğlu, who was seen as the opposition’s best chance to unseat Erdogan since 2003.

According to the report, Ozel secured 812 out of 1,366 delegate votes, marking a significant leadership change following the party’s electoral setback.