NATO member Turkey is blocking any partnership or advancement of Israeli involvement with the alliance, Reuters quoted anonymous sources as saying.
This has been the case since Ankara took an extreme anti-Israel stance following Hamas’s attack on the Jewish state on Oct. 7, according to the Aug. 1 report.
Israel, which is a NATO-partner country but not a full member, “has fostered close relations with the military alliance and some of its members, notably its biggest ally the United States,” the report notes.
Ankara has been a fierce opponent of Israel since the war began, and has publicly and falsely claimed that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. In July, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan went so far as to denounce the United States for what he claimed was its complicity in “massacres” committed by the IDF.
Reuters quoted anonymous sources who said Turkey has been blocking NATO-Israel cooperation since the war began.
Ankara’s approach is in line with its policy of protecting and supporting the Hamas terrorist organization, including hosting a Hamas headquarters since 2012.
Erdoğan threatened this week to invade Israel in response to the current war. “Just like we entered Karabakh, just like we entered Libya, we might do similar to them,” he said in a meeting with his Justice and Development Party (AKP).
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz posted a response to Erdogan’s comments on X that read: “Erdoğan follows in the footsteps of Saddam Hussein and threatens to attack Israel. Just let him remember what happened there and how it ended.”
Katz then later instructed Israeli diplomats around the world to lobby other NATO countries to remove Turkey as a member due to its violation of the organization’s founding principles.
However, the chances of NATO expelling Turkey are slim as Turkey provides a strategic edge for the alliance due to its proximity to Russia, and NATO has never expelled a full member. That being said, Israel is putting diplomatic pressure on member countries to condemn the pro-Hamas actions of Erdogan and his threats against Israel.
