The speech last night (October 25) by the President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, to the members of his party in the parliament was his harshest reference so far to the aftermath of the events of October 7. Inter alia, it included the claim that Hamas is not a terrorist organization but rather a liberation organization, and a strong call for an immediate ceasefire followed by the convention of an international peace conference. Erdogan accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of abusing Turkey's good intentions and announced that contrary to his plans, he would not visit Israel. Erdogan even threatened military action but did not specify beyond that. The spokesperson for the Israeli Foreign Ministry strongly rejected Erdogan's rhetoric and declared that Hamas is a terrorist organization as despicable as ISIS.
The speech cannot be interpreted as anything other than an announcement by Erdogan about the end of the normalization efforts between the countries, which were reflected in the agreement reached in August 2022 on the return of the ambassadors to Ankara and Tel Aviv. In so doing, Erdogan lived up to what was feared in Jerusalem from the start – that normalization between the countries depends on there not being an outbreak of violence between Israel and the Palestinians. Therefore, when in December 2020 Erdogan began to call for improved relations between the countries began, Israel hesitated whether to respond positively.
What are Erdogan's motives for delivering such a strong speech and in effect breaking ties with Israel? Erdogan has always had much empathy for the Palestinian issue, and is reinforced by the Turkish public, which is also highly sympathetic to the Palestinians. Harsh statements against Israel are sounded across the entire Turkish political spectrum. The war in Gaza in any event reduces the chance of energy cooperation in the region, in light of the increased security risk, and therefore cancellation of the Turkish Minister of Energy’s forthcoming visit to Israel is not a substantive price for Turkey. The speech also reflects frustration regarding the United States’ unequivocal support for Israel, the growing US presence in the region, and Turkey’s being ignored in the current crisis, mainly by the United States but also by Israel.
On Saturday, October 28, a huge rally in support of the Palestinians is planned at the old airport of Istanbul. The next day, Turkey will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the Turkish Republic. Erdogan's speech reflected the Turkish perception regarding the Ottoman heritage, whereby the Jews cannot claim (contrary to what occurred in the West) that Turkey displayed racism toward them. Accordingly, to Erdogan, it was only the Israeli behavior that made it impossible to continue with normalization. But as far as Israel is concerned, Erdogan has proven once again that he is not a reliable partner, and it is not at all clear how and when it will be possible to restore relations again.
The speech last night (October 25) by the President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, to the members of his party in the parliament was his harshest reference so far to the aftermath of the events of October 7. Inter alia, it included the claim that Hamas is not a terrorist organization but rather a liberation organization, and a strong call for an immediate ceasefire followed by the convention of an international peace conference. Erdogan accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of abusing Turkey's good intentions and announced that contrary to his plans, he would not visit Israel. Erdogan even threatened military action but did not specify beyond that. The spokesperson for the Israeli Foreign Ministry strongly rejected Erdogan's rhetoric and declared that Hamas is a terrorist organization as despicable as ISIS.
The speech cannot be interpreted as anything other than an announcement by Erdogan about the end of the normalization efforts between the countries, which were reflected in the agreement reached in August 2022 on the return of the ambassadors to Ankara and Tel Aviv. In so doing, Erdogan lived up to what was feared in Jerusalem from the start – that normalization between the countries depends on there not being an outbreak of violence between Israel and the Palestinians. Therefore, when in December 2020 Erdogan began to call for improved relations between the countries began, Israel hesitated whether to respond positively.
What are Erdogan's motives for delivering such a strong speech and in effect breaking ties with Israel? Erdogan has always had much empathy for the Palestinian issue, and is reinforced by the Turkish public, which is also highly sympathetic to the Palestinians. Harsh statements against Israel are sounded across the entire Turkish political spectrum. The war in Gaza in any event reduces the chance of energy cooperation in the region, in light of the increased security risk, and therefore cancellation of the Turkish Minister of Energy’s forthcoming visit to Israel is not a substantive price for Turkey. The speech also reflects frustration regarding the United States’ unequivocal support for Israel, the growing US presence in the region, and Turkey’s being ignored in the current crisis, mainly by the United States but also by Israel.
On Saturday, October 28, a huge rally in support of the Palestinians is planned at the old airport of Istanbul. The next day, Turkey will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the Turkish Republic. Erdogan's speech reflected the Turkish perception regarding the Ottoman heritage, whereby the Jews cannot claim (contrary to what occurred in the West) that Turkey displayed racism toward them. Accordingly, to Erdogan, it was only the Israeli behavior that made it impossible to continue with normalization. But as far as Israel is concerned, Erdogan has proven once again that he is not a reliable partner, and it is not at all clear how and when it will be possible to restore relations again.