Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday Islamic countries should form an alliance against what he called “the growing threat of expansionism” from Israel.
He made the comment after describing what Palestinian and Turkish officials said was the killing by Israeli troops of a Turkish-American woman taking part in a protest on Friday against settlement expansion in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
“The only step that will stop Israeli arrogance, Israeli banditry, and Israeli state terrorism is the alliance of Islamic countries,” Erdogan said at an Islamic schools’ association event near Istanbul.
Turkey improving ties with other Middle Eastern countries
He said recent steps that Turkey has taken to improve ties with Egypt and Syria are aimed at “forming a line of solidarity against the growing threat of expansionism,” which he said also threatened Lebanon and Syria.
Erdogan hosted Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in Ankara this week and they discussed the Gaza war and ways to further repair their long-frozen ties during what was the first such presidential visit in 12 years.
Ties between them started thawing in 2020 when Turkey began diplomatic efforts to ease tensions with estranged regional rivals, including the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.
Erdogan said in July that Turkey would extend an invitation to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad “any time” for possible talks to restore relations between the two neighbors, who severed ties in 2011 after the outbreak of the Syrian civil war.
In response, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz posted an AI photo on X depicting Erdogan poring fire onto a miniature city with Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar looking on.
“Erdogan continues to throw the Turkish people into the fire of hatred and violence for his friends from Hamas. Today, he calls on the Islamic countries to form an alliance against the State of Israel. This is incitement.
“Israel defends its borders and its citizens against the murderers of Hamas and the Shiite axis of evil led by Iran. Erdogan and the Muslim Brotherhood have been working together with Iran for years to stamp out the moderate Arab regimes in the Middle East,” he continued. “It is better for Erdogan to shut up and be ashamed.”
