Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has long maintained a fractious relationship with the State of Israel. On Sunday, he told members of his AK Party that Turkey might invade Israel.
In response, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz pointed out that another Middle East ruler with similar ideas did not succeed with such dreams.
“Erdogan follows in the footsteps of Saddam Hussein and threatens to attack Israel. Just let him remember what happened there and how it ended,” Katz wrote in a post on the X social media platform.
ארדואן הולך בדרכו של סדאם חוסיין ומאיים לתקוף את ישראל. רק שיזכור מה קרה שם ואיך זה הסתיים.@RTErdogan pic.twitter.com/6GykLtLoh4
— ישראל כ”ץ Israel Katz (@Israel_katz) July 28, 2024
“We must be very strong so that Israel can’t do these ridiculous things to Palestine,” he told the gathering. “Just like we entered Karabakh, just like we entered Libya, we might do similar to them,” he said.
The Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued its own statement on X, warning that Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will end his life “in the same way as Hitler.” Interestingly, the statement was only posted on the ministry’s Turkish-language account on X, and not in English.
“Just as the genocidal Hitler ended his life, so will Netanyahu. Just as the genocidal Nazis were held accountable, those who tried to destroy the Palestinians will also be held accountable. Humanity will stand with the Palestinians. You will not destroy the Palestinians,” the ministry wrote.
Soykırımcı Hitler’in sonu nasıl olduysa, soykırımcı Netanyahu’nun sonu da öyle olacak.
Soykırımcı Naziler nasıl hesap verdiyse, Filistinlileri yok etmeye çalışanlar da öyle hesap verecek.
İnsanlık, Filistinlilerin yanında duracak.
Filistinlileri yok edemeyeceksiniz.
— T.C. Dışişleri Bakanlığı (@TC_Disisleri) July 28, 2024
In a separate post, the ministry added, “Our President has become the voice of humanity’s conscience. International Zionist circles, especially Israel, who want to suppress this righteous voice, are in great alarm. Humanity ends the same way for all those who are genocidal and their supporters.”
What is Karabakh?
Karabakh, for those unfamiliar with it, is also referred to as the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh, a breakaway state in the South Caucasus whose territory was internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan. Turkey provided significant support for Azerbaijan’s military operations in Nagorno-Karabkh through military training and modernization during the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh War.
Also in 2020, Turkey deployed military personnel to Libya to support the United Nations-recognized Government of National Accord.
It’s important to note, however, that Turkey is a member of NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization), an organization that would likely clip his wings should Erdogan’s impulsivity get the better of him.
Although Israel is not a member of NATO, the Jewish State is a designated Major Non-North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Ally (MNNA).
Less than a week after the October 7th Hamas invasion of Israel and slaughter of 1,200 people, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg the organization condemned the terrorist attacks in the strongest possible terms, adding, “Israel does not stand alone.”
Israel also maintains strong ties with Azerbaijan as well.
Erdogan is always the first to start name-calling and break off diplomatic ties whenever Israel chooses to defend itself against terrorism from the Palestinian Authority or Hamas in Gaza. The Turkish president has for decades been a fervent supporter of the Egypt-based Muslim Brotherhood that spawned Hamas.
Erdogan apparently entertains delusions that he could and might someday invade the State of Israel to aid in its conquest by radical Islamic terrorists. It may be equally entertaining to look up the diagnosis in the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, Fifth Edition, Text Revised.
