Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Sunday launched a scathing attack on the Palestinian Authority chief for his refusal to speak before the parliament in Ankara.
“Mahmoud Abbas, who didn’t show up despite our invitation to address the parliament, owes us an apology. Let’s see if he’ll agree to come now,” the Turkish leader said during a charitable event.
Erdoğan’s remarks expose the growing rift between Ramallah and Ankara following Turkey’s unified stance with the Hamas terrorist organization, the P.A.'s political rival.
Erdoğan has also repeatedly hosted senior Hamas officials since Oct. 7. Turkey has hosted a Hamas headquarters since 2012.
In the same speech, he condemned the United States for allowing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to address Congress.
“We all witnessed the shameful spectacle in the House of Representatives. Frankly, we are embarrassed for humanity in light of what we saw there. They rolled out the red carpet for someone like Netanyahu and applauded him until their hands were sore,” said Erdoğan.
He reiterated his unfounded claim that Israel is “destroying” the Gaza Strip, and that afterwards the Jewish state would “turn its gaze to Turkey.”
Last month, Erdoğan denounced the United States for what he claimed was complicity in “massacres” committed by Israel Defense Forces troops battling Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip.
“What is between Israel and Gaza is not war,” he added. “Israel has been treating Gaza as an open-air prison for years. They are usurping Palestinians of their homes, businesses and farmlands throughout Palestinian territory using thieving terrorists they call settlers.”
(In the summer of 2005, Israel under the government of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon unilaterally disengaged from Gaza, withdrawing every soldier and civilian, expelling thousands of Israelis from their homes.)
“For years, Israel has engaged in systematic state terrorism,” Erdoğan said.
In July, a bipartisan group of 28 members of the U.S. House of Representatives signed a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken raising alarm over Erdoğan’s stance.
Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) told JNS that “Erdoğan continues to offer dangerous support to Hamas. Instead of condemning their terrorist acts, he has praised them as a ‘liberation group’ and ‘freedom fighters.’
“There is no room for honoring terrorists who murdered, burned, raped and kidnapped more than 1,200 people, including 44 Americans,” Gottheimer said.
In May, the Turkish leader described Netanyahu as a “vampire who feeds on blood,” while urging Muslims worldwide to act against the “threat” posed by the Jewish state.
Erdoğan has made a habit of likening Israel to the Nazis. Last year, he said Netanyahu is “no different” than Hitler. Then, in May, he claimed the Israeli leader “reached a level that would make Hitler jealous.”
Earlier this year, Erdoğan invited Ismail Haniyeh, the head of Hamas’s “political” bureau, to stay in the country, praising him as a “leader of the Palestinian struggle.”
A version of this story was originally published by Israel Hayom
