15th Nov 2023

Erdogan threatens to declare war on Israel and send military to Gaza in chilling warning

The Turkish president suggested in a speech at a pro-Palestine rally this afternoon that Turkey can "come at any night unexpectedly".

By Liam Doyle, Express

Turkey's president appears to have threatened to intervene in Gaza in an impassioned speech at a pro-Palestine rally this evening.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan delivered a speech to a rally this afternoon in which he told attendees Israel was responsible for war crimes, and framed Hamas as "freedom fighters".

In comments that have prompted Israeli outcry, and led the country to withdraw its diplomatic presence, president Erdogan suggested assaults on Gaza constituted a "massacre".

In the same speech, he reportedly said that Turkey can "come at any night unexpectedly” to ecstatic reception from hundreds of thousands of attendees.

The footage, which is currently circulating on X, formerly known as Twitter, purportedly showed the pro-Palestine crowd responding with the chant: “Turkish military to Gaza.”

Footage circulating online was posted by news aggregating account Visegrád 24, and showed Mr Erdogan speaking at the event in Turkish.

Thousands of people are seen waving a combination of Turkish and Palestinian flags from the venue in Istanbul, where he was speaking to people attending the Great Palestine meeting. READ MORE: Middle East and “Greater Israel”: There Will be War

Erdogan vows victory over 'imperialists' on Turkey's centenary

By Dmitry Zaks, AFP

Erdogan ended the day by overseeing 100 navy ships pass through the Bosphorus while screaming fighter jets performed aerobatics overhead.

"Turkey is a country that helps those who have no one, from the Balkans to the Caucasus, from Palestine to wherever there is a need," Erdogan told the nation.

"Israel is taking revenge...on Gazan babies, children and women," Erdogan said, renewing his call for an immediate ceasefire. "What is urgent in Gaza is not pauses for few hours, rather we need a permanent ceasefire."

Turkish state television has also scrapped the broadcast of concerts and other festivities because of the "alarming human tragedy in Gaza".

Erdogan's lifelong defence of Palestinian rights has turned him into a hero across swathes of the Muslim world.

He announced that 1.5 million people had come out for a pro-Palestinian rally in Istanbul on Saturday that ended up drowning out national television coverage of the centenary.

Erdogan accused the Israeli government of behaving like a "war criminal" and trying to "eradicate" Palestinians.

His remarks prompted Israel to announce the withdrawal of all diplomatic staff for a "re-evaluation" of relations.

Erdogan accused Israel of committing war crimes and drew a controversial parallel between their actions in Gaza and the Holocaust.

"In the past, they were massacring the Jewish people in the gas chambers, and they were indeed wiping out whole regions with bombs. A similar mentality is being shown in Gaza today," President Erdogan proclaimed while addressing a crowd in Istanbul.

The Turkish President's comments have fueled a diplomatic crisis, with top Turkish officials canceling planned visits to Israel, and Israeli diplomats departing their posts in Istanbul and Ankara due to security concerns.

"If you put some politicians with consciences aside, this massacre taking place in Gaza is the product of the West," Erdogan declared, asserting that Western nations have accumulated "a lot of sins" by backing Israel's actions.

“I reiterate that Hamas is not a terrorist organization,” Erdogan said in remarks broadcast by TRTWorld. “You, Israel, are an occupier, you are an invader … Israel, we will declare you as a war criminal to the world.”

"We cannot put Hamas resisters defending their homeland in the same category as the occupiers," Erdogan said.

“Against the background of the harsh statements from Turkey, I ordered the return of the diplomatic representatives from Turkey in order to conduct a reassessment of Israel-Turkey relations,” Foreign Minister Eli Cohen posted on X. READ MORE: Israeli Official Threatens to Wipe Iran, Lebanon Off the Face of the Earth

Turkey's Erdogan calls Israel 'terror state', slams West

By Reuters

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday Israel was a "terror state" committing war crimes and violating international law in Gaza, sharpening his repeated criticism of Israeli leaders and their backers in the West.

Speaking two days before a planned visit to Germany to meet Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Erdogan said Israel's military campaign against Palestinian militant group Hamas included "the most treacherous attacks in human history" with "unlimited" support from the West.

He called for Israeli leaders to be tried for war crimes at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, and repeated his view - and Turkey's position - that Hamas is not a terrorist organisation but a political party that won past elections.

Britain, the United States, European Union and some Arab states deem Hamas a terrorist group, unlike Turkey. Ankara hosts some members of Hamas and supports a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

"With the savagery of bombing the civilians it forced out of their homes while they are relocating, it is literally employing state terrorism," Erdogan said of Israel in parliament. "I am now saying, with my heart at ease, that Israel is a terror state".

"We will never shy away from voicing the truth that Hamas members protecting their lands, honour, and lives in the face of occupation policies are resistance fighters, just because some people are uncomfortable with it," he said.

Erdogan's trip to Germany would be his first to a Western nation since Israel began bombarding Gaza on Oct. 7 in response to Hamas's attacks. Germany has expressed strong solidarity with Israel, while urging a focus on limiting the impact of military operations on Gaza's civilian population.

"The West, namely the United States, is unfortunately still seeing this issue backwards," Erdogan said.

He called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to announce whether or not Israel had nuclear weapons, and added that Netanyahu would soon be a "goner" from his post.

Israel's Heritage Minister Amihay Eliyahu's remarks on the idea of Israel carrying out a nuclear strike on Gaza revealed the existence of Israel's nuclear weapons, Erdogan said, calling for an international investigation.

"If there are nuclear bombs that were hidden from the examination of the International Atomic Energy Agency, they should be revealed as well," Erdogan said.

Israel does not publicly acknowledge it has nuclear weapons though the Federation of American Scientists estimates Israel has 90 to 400 nuclear warheads.

He likened the conflict between Israel, a Jewish state, and the Palestinians to a war between the Christian and Muslim worlds, saying the fighting was "a matter of cross and crescent".

Ankara would take steps to ensure Israeli settlers in occupied Palestinian territories are recognised as "terrorists", he added.

This new war will lead into something catastrophic for the world in the foreseeable future, it’s inevitable. I hate to be pessimistic, but the reality is that war is already here, and it will be brutal. The world needs to speak out against this injustice and stop this escalating war in Gaza from becoming a world war that can spin out of control. READ MORE: Plan to Attack Israel

READ MORE: Biden is a WAR CRIMINAL

Do yourself a favor. Think for yourself. Be your own person. Question everything. Stand for principle. Champion individual liberty and self-ownership where you can. Develop a strong moral code. Be kind to others. Do no harm, unless that harm is warranted. Pretty obvious stuff...but people who hold these things in their hearts seem to be disappearing from the earth at an accelerated rate. Stay safe, my friends. Thanks for being here.

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