Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has once again lashed out at Israel, saying on Saturday that his country “firmly backs” the terror organization Hamas amid the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip. He also compared Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his administration to authoritarian dictators Hitler, Mussolini and Stalin.
Erdogan says Turkey ‘firmly’ backs terror group Hamas, compares Netanyahu to Hitler https://t.co/aD5HzgpSB1
— The Times of Israel (@TimesofIsrael) March 9, 2024
“Hamas is not a terrorist organization, but rather a resistance, and we stand firmly behind them and in constant contact with its leaders,” Erdogan said. “Netanyahu’s government continues to commit more massacres against the Palestinian people.”
Erdogan said Turkey will continue to do what is necessary to hold Israeli officials accountable for the massacres committed in Gaza in accordance with international law.
According to NBC News, the U.S., the U.K., the European Union, Canada and many other countries have designated Hamas as a terrorist organization because of its attacks on Israel, which include kidnapping civilians, conducting suicide bombings and firing rocket salvos into Israeli cities.
In October, Erdogan claimed that Hamas was “not a terrorist organization” but “a group of mujahideen defending their lands.” “Mujahideen” is an Arabic term for those engaged in jihad, or holy war.
Netanyahu fired back at Erdogan on X (formerly Twitter) saying “Israel, which upholds the rules of armed conflict, will take no moral lectures from Erdogan who supports the mass murderers and rapists of Hamas, denies the Armenian genocide, massacres Kurds in his own country and eliminates regime opponents and journalists.”
Muslims of the Ottoman Empire (the old Turkey) committed a genocide of Christian Armenians. This is not discussed often enough. I am glad Netanyahu called out Turkey on its active concealment of the atrocities committed by his people. pic.twitter.com/Gljh569atu
— Marina Medvin 🇺🇸 (@MarinaMedvin) March 9, 2024
Erdogan is no stranger to making controversial statements in support of authoritarian Islamic regimes and has overseen a revival of Ottoman tradition perceived to be an open attack against the republican nature of modern Turkey founded by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.
The Times of Israel also reported last week that Erdogan has indicated he will not seek re-election to another term, which will end his dominance of Turkish politics since 2003.
The Times of Israel noted that under Erdogan, Turkey turned away from its secular path and embraced Islamism. His time in office saw a marked deterioration in ties between one-time allies Israel and Turkey.
Fox News even published a list of Erdogan’s nine most troubling statements back in 2015 after only his first year in office as president.
