Turkish authorities have ramped up investigations and detentions of opposition figures, with three such actions on Monday alone, raising concerns about a widening crackdown on dissent against the government. The main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) youth branch head was briefly detained for a social media post about the Istanbul prosecutor, the party said, … Read more
“The Kurds did not acquire drones from Iran – this is all clear Turkish propaganda,” a Kurdish military official stated to The Jerusalem Post in a video call on Wednesday. These remarks came following an article published by Turkish outlet Yeni Safak – and echoed on the Post – which blamed Kurdish forces for … Read more
President Tayyip Erdogan warned on Wednesday that Turkey had the power and ability to “crush” all terrorists in Syria, including Islamic State and Kurdish militants, while urging all countries to “take their hands off” Syria. According to Anadolu, Erdogan also called on Israel to halt its “aggressive actions” towards Syria: “Starting with Israel, the … Read more
Turkey and Iraq have signed a memorandum of understanding on military, security and counter-terrorism cooperation, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Thursday, after two days of high-level security talks in Ankara. The neighboring countries have in recent years been at loggerheads over Ankara’s cross-border military operations against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) … Read more
There was anger in Turkey over opposition leader Ugur Ozel, who said in a TV interview on Saturday that Hamas is a terrorist organization, a stance he has also previously voiced. Ozel stated, “Hamas rains bombs on innocent people in the middle of the night, with balloons, drones, and I don’t know what else.” … Read more
Following Turkey’s decision to halt trade with Israel, Turkish businesses are bracing for a financial hit, and Israeli businesses are looking for alternative sources for imported products. For more stories from The Media Line go to themedialine.org Bulent Gultekin, a former governor of Turkey’s central bank, told The Media Line that the ban would … Read more
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday that more than 1,000 members of the militant Palestinian group Hamas were being treated in hospitals across Turkey as he reiterated his stance that it was a “resistance movement.” A Turkish official later said Erdogan had “misspoke” and meant that Gazans more generally were being treated in … Read more
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to have Turkey removed from the ceasefire talks, in a letter published on Friday. In the letter, Smotrich stated that he was surprised to have learned that representatives of Israel’s “antisemitic enemy Erdogan” are part of the peace talks, and that “Erdogan should be canceled, … Read more
Turkey restricted exports of a wide range of products to Israel on Tuesday until a ceasefire was declared in Gaza, as tensions continued to rise between Ankara and Jerusalem. It took the step after Israel rejected a Turkish request to take part in an aid air-drop operation into Gaza. Ankara has prided itself on … Read more
Turkey had momentous local elections over the weekend. On March 31 around 48 million people voted out of around 16 million who could have voted. This is a good turnout and shows that in Turkey there is a vibrant demand for democracy. This comes after two decades of basically one-party rule by the authoritarian … Read more
