Erdogan says Turkey might enter Israel to help Palestinians
ANKARA, July 28 – Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan hinted at compliance actions on Sunday; Turkey might consider entering Israel, as it did in Libya and Nagorno-Karabakh. Although he has not explained the details of the threatened response, his comment has caused worldwide reactions.
Addressing a public gathering demanding support for Turkey’s defense industry following the sustained aggression of the West in Gaza, Erdogan said the arrogance of Israel had been demonstrated in the Gaza Strip. To ensure that ‘these ridiculous things are no longer done to Palestinians, we have to be very strong,’ Erdogan continued: “Just like entering Karabakh, just like entering Libya, there could be similar action towards them.
This, in turn, brought a reaction from Erdogan. However, the other members of the AK Party did not feel pressured to respond to other questions concerning the issue. Even Israel did not respond immediately to Erdogan’s statements.
Therefore, it might be useful to cast some light on Erdogan’s potential plan based on previous Turkish incursions. Turkey deployed special operation forces to Libya in January 2020 to back up the Government of National Accord recognized by the United Nations. Thus, today, the Libyan Prime Minister in Tripoli, Abdualhamid al Dbeibah, and his Government of National Unity are still benefiting from Turkey’s support.
Thus, while Turkey has been providing overall financial aid to the Azerbaijan side financially, it has not been directly involved in the military operations in the host country’s territory regarding Nagorno-Karabakh. Nevertheless, it has been advertised that it employs ‘all types,’ including military and training development, to help an ally, Azerbaijan, a neighboring country.
Erdogan said this at that particular time when he pointed out that the Middle East is still a volatile area provided the recent act of aggression by Israel on the people of Gaza. He stressed that Turkey wants to be a powerful actor in the region and wants the capability to influence the results of conflicts.
The global audience will likely focus on Erdogan’s statement because his announcements cause regional instabilities. If Turkey were to get more actively involved in the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians, it would add some spice to the relations, and there would be even more meddlesome attempts to settle the issue.
This view aligns well with Erdogan’s general approach to foreign policy, which relies on assertiveness in using force and direct interference and meddling in crises within neighboring countries. The recurrent military threat indicates Erdogan’s Turkey’s state government is willing to take risky moves to back what they consider right for Palestinians.
