Israel’s Foreign Ministry denied a change in its diplomatic relationship with Turkey on Wednesday, just hours after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan claimed that he had cut all ties with Jerusalem.
The ministry “is not aware of a change in the status of relations with Turkey,” it circulated in a statement cited by local media.
Reports noted that Turkey’s embassy in Israel was functioning as usual, while Jerusalem’s diplomatic mission in Ankara also remains open.
Earlier on Wednesday, speaking with reporters aboard a plane en route to Ankara after a visit to Azerbaijan, Erdoğan claimed that “we, as the State and Government of the Republic of Turkey, have cut off relations with Israel. We do not have any relationship with Israel at this point.”
The Turkish president also told attendees at the COP29 climate summit in Baku on Wednesday that “coordinated diplomatic efforts must be used” to push the Jewish state “into a corner,” Israel Hayom reported.
Erdoğan has become more hostile towards Israel and closer to Hamas since the terrorist group’s assault in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
In May, Erdoğan called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a “vampire who feeds on blood,” urging Muslims to fight the Jewish state.
“The world is watching the barbarity of … a vampire who feeds on blood called Netanyahu, and they are watching it on live broadcast,” he said.
Two months later, Erdoğan told Newsweek that Palestinian terrorists from Gaza were “simply defending their homes, streets and homeland.
“What is between Israel and Gaza is not war,” he continued. “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.”
Over the summer, the Israeli Defense Ministry extended a power supply contract for army bases with Dorad Energy, which is partially owned by a Turkish company whose chairman has received praise from Erdoğan.
The Dorad power station, the Jewish state’s second-largest independent power station, has provided electricity to the Israel Defense Forces and the Defense Ministry since 2004. In July, the firm’s board of directors approved renewing the deal to supply power to IDF military bases.
Zorlu Holding’s chairman, Ahmet Nazif Zorlu, is said to maintain close ties with Erdoğan and his AK Party. In the past, he received multiple awards from Erdoğan, with the Turkish leader praising him as a “hero.”
The contract with Israel’s Defense Ministry was extended two months after Erdoğan declared that he would halt all business with the Jewish state, citing the “humanitarian tragedy” amid the war in Gaza.
Following a public outcry in Turkey, Zorlu Holding said that it intended to sell its shares in Dorad, ending its business ties to the Jewish state.
