The speech of Turkish Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the Parliament in Ankara on Wednesday, was cheered on from the audience with calls "Death to Israel." Erdogan claimed Israel had repeatedly attempted to topple the Turkish government in recent decades and told parliamentarians that he expects to host the head of the Hamas political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh on the weekend, calling him "leader of the Palestinian struggle."
"While everyone else remained silent, we defined Hamas as a resistance movement, not a terror group. I declared and showed maps in the UN showing Israel has occupied Palestinian lands. We have always stood by our Palestinian brothers in every way," he said.
Erdogan noted there was no difference between Hamas and Turkish guerrilla fighter groups that operated during the Turkish War of Independence under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of modern Turkey. A propaganda film was screened as part of the event showing Turkey's actions in support of the Palestinians, leading to the audience chanting "Death to Israel."
In his speech, Erdogan linked Israel to military coups that occurred in Turkey in the past century. "Don’t forget the military coup on September 12, 1980, which happened right after the massive demonstration for Jerusalem in Konya. Don’t forget the coup on February 28, 1997, which took place right after the Jerusalem Night event in Ankara. Don’t forget that the failed coup attempt in 2016 was carried out by Zionist operators,” Erdogan said.
“All these moves were made to lower our sensitivity to the Palestinian struggle. I declare we won’t bow our heads or surrender to your attacks, such as military coups, economic sanctions, assassination attempts, and psychological warfare. I declare I will continue to amplify the Palestinian people’s voice,” he added.
While Erdogan plans to meet with Haniyeh over the weekend, Reuters quoted a local source saying that Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu met with Haniyeh in Kars on Wednesday. The two discussed humanitarian aid reaching Gaza, efforts to achieve a cease-fire, and the issue of the Israeli hostages.
Dr. Hay Eytan Cohen Yanarocak from Tel Aviv University said following Erdogan's speech that blaming Israel of backing military coups in Turkey is another troubling escalation in the rhetoric against Israel, "In a manner we haven’t seen before."
Erdogan also accused Israel of killing 14,000 Palestinian children. "They’ve already surpassed Hitler. We’ll continue to support the Palestinian struggle for independence under any conditions and protect it with courage against anyone who tries to gain Israel's sympathy when they continue to call Hamas a terrorist organization.”