 "Why is Erdogan backing Hamas against Israel? What’s Turkey’s role in conflict?")
Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan has upset Israel by calling Hamas ‘liberators’ who are fighting for their homeland. Erdogan on Wednesday said while the West and Israel ‘can view Hamas as a terrorist organisation’, he views Hamas as mujahedeen – holy warriors engaged in jihad. Erdogan also said he has cancelled his trip to Israel because of its “inhumane” war against Hamas in Gaza. Israel has been carpet-bombing Gaza since the 7 October attack by Hamas left over 1,400 dead and around 220 people as hostages. The Palestinian health ministry says more than 5,700 Palestinians have been killed in the war including some 2,300 minors – a toll from the bombardment without precedent in the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Worse, an even greater loss of life in Gaza is looking since Israel’s forces are preparing a ground invasion. But what did Erdogan say exactly? Why is he backing Hamas? And what’s Turkey’s role in the conflict? Let’s take a closer look: What did Erdogan say? As per The _Times of Israe_l, Erdogan said that Israel and the West ‘can view Hamas as a terrorist organization’. “The West owes you a lot. But Turkey does not owe you anything,” Erdogan, addressing his AK party in Parliament said.
“Hamas is not a terrorist organization, it is a group of mujahideen defending their lands.”
“Western tears shed for Israel are a manifestation of fraud,” he added, as per Hindustan Times. Erdogan further said his plan to visit Israel is off. “We had a project to go to Israel, but it was cancelled, we will not go,” Erdogan added. “I invite all other countries with reason and conscience to put pressure on the … government to return the state of Israel to sanity,” he added as per Politico. Erdogan met Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a United Nations summit in New York last month, marking an improvement in relations that began with a decision last year to reappoint ambassadors. The Turkish leader did not say when he had intended to visit Israel, where Ankara had been eyeing joining a natural gas pipeline project promoted by the United States. “Of course, we had good intentions, but (Netanyahu) abused them,” Erdogan said. “If he had continued with good intentions, our relations might have been different, but now, unfortunately, this will not happen either.” Erdogan had initially struck a measured tone on the first day of war, condemning all attacks against civilians and urging Israel to be measured in its response. But he became much more vocal after the deadly strike on Ahli Arab hospital in Gaza last week, leading to large and angry protests across the Muslim world. [caption id=“attachment_13298642” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] An Israeli mobile artillery unit fires a shell from southern Israel towards the Gaza Strip, in a position near the Israel-Gaza border. AP[/caption] “It is clear that security cannot be ensured by bombing hospitals, schools, mosques and churches,” Erdogan said last week in a statement. “I reiterate our call on the Israeli government not to expand the scope of its attacks against civilians and to immediately stop its operations that are bordering genocide.” The Times of Israel noted that Erdogan is yet to condemn Hamas’ killings of Israel’s citizens. This isn’t the first time Erdogan has struck such a tone about Hamas. Erdogan previously posted on X in 2018, “Hamas is not a terrorist organization and Palestinians are not terrorists.” It is a resistance movement that defends the Palestinian homeland against an occupying power.” Why is Erdogan backing Hamas? For that, it is important to understand why Erdogan is hostile to Israel. Ankara’s relations with Israel have been strained since 2010 when an Israeli raid on a Turkish ship carrying aid into Gaza left 10 civilians dead.
As per The Times of Israel, prior to that the two nations were long-time allies.
Since the incident, Netanyahu and Erdogan have repeatedly traded insults. Erdogan in 2014 accused Israel of ‘keeping Hitler’s spirit alive’ amid a war with Gaza. Ties rebounded slightly, only for both nations to recall their ambassadors after violence broke out in Gaza and the Trump regime shifted its embassy to Jerusalem. Erdogan in December 2020, facing economic headwinds domestically and diplomatic isolation globally, began signalling about being open to improving ties. In August, Israel and Turkey announced that diplomatic ties were completely restored, as per The Times of Israel. While there was some thawing of the relations lately, the Hamas attack and its aftermath have changed the equation yet again. Israel’s foreign ministry spokesperson posted on X:
Israel wholeheartedly rejects the Turkish President’s harsh words about the terrorist organization Hamas.
— Lior Haiat 🇮🇱🎗️ (@LiorHaiat) October 25, 2023
Hamas is a despicable terrorist organization worse than ISIS that brutally and intentionally murders babies, children, women and the elderly, takes civilians hostage and uses… pic.twitter.com/LU4mJGz18v
What is Turkey’s role in conflict? Turkey in the past has pulled for a two-state solution as the way to solve the Israel-Palestine problem.
However, under Erdogan, it has clearly backed Hamas.
As per The Times of Israel, Turkey helmed by Erdogan has a long and lasting relationship with Hamas. Not only has Erdogan kept in touch with Hamas leadership since the war kicked off, he has even allowed the terror group to keep an office in Istanbul for more than a decade. Some have argued that Turkey is uniquely positioned to play peacemaker. “Turkey has a good communication channel with Hamas, which is an important asset,” Taha Ozhan, research director at the Ankara Institute, told Al Jazeera. “It has been built up over 17 years, when Turkey was the only country to invite Hamas into [its capital]. Ozhan, a former chair of the Turkish parliament’s foreign affairs committee, added, “In these times of crisis, the communication channels and relations are important.” Turkey’s foreign minister Hakan Fidan has said Ankara is prioritising aid to Gaza and securing the release of hostages taken by Hamas. “We have started discussing … with the political section of Hamas,” Fidan said. “We’ve been putting a lot of effort to make sure that children and foreigners especially are released.” [caption id=“attachment_13297372” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Following the approximately 1,400-person-death Hamas attack on Israeli communities on October 7, Israel has been bombarding the heavily populated Gaza Strip for several days Image Courtesy AP[/caption] On Tuesday, Erdogan accused the United Nations Security Council – where the United States, Britain and France have permanent seats – of bowing to the “Israeli regime”. On Wednesday, he added: “Those outside the region should stop pouring fuel into the fire. “All parties should take their hands off the trigger and a ceasefire should be declared immediately… Direct or indirect negotiations should be initiated to release the hostages.” Erdogan is expected to appear at a massive rally in Istanbul on Saturday defending Palestinian right. What do experts say? That Erdogan’s words have seemingly put paid to any notion that Ankara could act impartially. A piece in CFR contended that the Turkish people’s outpouring of sympathy for Gaza is only likely to further cement Erdogan’s bond with Hamas. “Still, Erdogan’s sympathies for Hamas notwithstanding, he is also acutely aware that a major conflagration in the region would be detrimental to everyone, Turkey included. This explains why he reportedly warned his Iranian counterpart, Ebrahim Raisi, against steps that would increase tensions,” the piece argued. The piece added that Erdogan is now looking at the relationship with Israel and the United States further going downhill. “Erdogan could have initially contributed much to the search for a compromise in this conflict. He has eschewed the little trust Washington may have had in him with the stridency of his anti-American language. He appears to have dealt himself out of the US-led negotiations,” the piece concluded.
A piece in Foreign Policy said Erdogan made a personal choice to foster the relationship with Hamas.
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View All“At this point, though, the Hamas relationship has deep roots in Turkey and will be difficult to uproot,” the piece said. It added that no one takes Erdogan seriously due to his ties with Hamas. “In charting such a course, Erdogan is once again acting in a manner that confirms the West’s deepest suspicions about his true affinities. As the Biden administration continues to shore up support for Israel through U.S. Secretary of State Antony’s Blinken’s shuttle diplomacy efforts, the only stop missing from his tour of the region is Ankara. Turkey appears to have made its choice to stand with Hamas, only because Erdogan wanted it this way,” the piece concluded. But others put the ball squarely in the court of Israel and the West. “Without talking about occupation, without talking about Palestine and Palestinians’ situation, there’s no room to move, it’s just talk,” Ozhan told Al Jazeera. “It depends on if Israel – and the support it has coming from Washington and Europe – are really interested in mediation.” Ohan warned that a ‘ripple effect’ could widen the conflict. “The wise choice should be re-establishing a political context and using this crisis as a leverage to create a political framework. But it depends on Israel and it depends on some Western capitals.” With inputs from agencies
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