Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan denounced the United States on Wednesday for what he claimed was its complicity in “massacres” committed by Israel Defense Forces troops battling Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip.
Answering written questions posed by Newsweek as he touched down on American soil for the annual summit of NATO, of which Ankara is a member, Erdoğan accused the IDF of “the brutal murder of innocent people.”
“The U.S. administration, however, disregards these violations and provides Israel with the most support,” said the Turkish leader.
Turkey, which has hosted a Hamas headquarters since 2012, has given full backing to the Palestinian terrorist organization in the aftermath of its Oct. 7 massacre of some 1,200 people in Israel.
Erdoğan told Newsweek on Wednesday that Palestinians in the coastal enclave are “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.”
(In the summer of 2005, Israel under the government headed by 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. “What happened to the resolution of UNSC for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza? Israel did not even bother, let alone enforce it. At this juncture, who will impose what kind of sanction against Israel for violating international law? That is the real question and no one is answering that.”
On June 10, the U.N. Security Council adopted a U.S.-backed resolution calling on Hamas to release the 120 hostages still being held in Gaza as part of a ceasefire deal with Israel. The terror group has yet to accept the deal on the table, which President Joe Biden described as “very generous.”
The Turkish president also accused the Jewish state of threatening “the countries of the region, particularly Lebanon,” and demanded that Jerusalem’s “attempts to spread the conflict across the region must stop.
“Otherwise, our region faces a greater risk of deeper conflicts and even war,” Erdoğan said.
The Iranian-backed Hezbollah terror group in Lebanon has attacked northern Israel in support of Hamas nearly every day since Oct. 8, firing thousands of drones, rockets and anti-tank missiles, killing more than two dozen people and causing widespread damage.
Earlier this week, 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.
Urging Turkey to stop “imitating the domestic, autocratic policies of dictators like Russian President Vladimir Putin,” Gottheimer called on Erdoğan to “work with the international community, including his NATO allies, to help secure the release of the hostages and end the war.”
In May, the Turkish leader described Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a “vampire who feeds on blood,” while urging Muslims worldwide to act against the “threat” posed by the Jewish state.
“The world is watching the barbarity of … a psychopath, a vampire who feeds on blood called Netanyahu, and they are watching it on live broadcast,” Erdoğan said in a speech to members of his AK Party.
“Oh, the American state, this blood is on your hands also. You are responsible for this genocide at least as much as Israel. Oh, the heads of state and government of Europe, you are also a party to Israel’s genocide, this barbarism, this vampire-like act of Israel, because you remained silent,” he charged.
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.”
Ankara also blocked exports to Israel, prompting Jerusalem to end its free trade agreement with Turkey.
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.”
