President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Sunday had fresh insults for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as Tel Aviv keeps pounding the blockaded Gaza Strip.
“This barbarian called Netanyahu, who is dragging our region, whole world into disaster, must be stopped,” Erdoğan told his ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) lawmakers at a consultation meeting.
Erdoğan convened the party’s Central Decision Making and Administrative Committee in Ankara for a three-day camp to discuss Türkiye’s stance on the Palestinian cause amid Israel’s war on Gaza and a road map to the 2028 local elections.
“Türkiye objects to the persecution, massacres, and injustice going on for 76 years on every platform. We stand by Palestinian people with all our means,” he said.
The Turkish leader has been a virulent critic of Israel, has met Hamas leaders and welcomes the Palestinian resistance group as a liberation movement, unlike the majority of the Western world.
More than 36,400 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza in Israel’s deadly offensive on Gaza since last Oct. 7 following a Hamas attack. The majority of those killed have been women and children, with over 82,600 others injured, according to local health authorities.
Vast tracts of Gaza lay in ruins amid Israel's crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.
Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), whose latest ruling ordered Tel Aviv to immediately halt its operation in Rafah, where more than 1 million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war.
Netanyahu’s office on Friday rejected a three-phase deal that would end hostilities in Gaza and secure the release of hostages, despite U.S. calls to accept it and reiterated his intention to continue his deadly offensive in Gaza until all of Tel Aviv's war goals are achieved.
On the fight against terrorism, Erdoğan said: "Türkiye cannot find peace or feel secure until the terror-producing swamps in northern Iraq and Syria are drained."
He was referring to the PKK terrorist group that operates a stronghold in northern Iraq’s Qandil region close to the Turkish border and its Syrian offshoot, the YPG, which has occupied the country’s northeastern regions with U.S. support since 2015.
The PKK has led an insurgency in Türkiye since 1984 that has killed tens of thousands of people.
As for a brand-new constitution to replace the 1980 coup-era document for Türkiye, Erdoğan said his party was “sincere” in reaching a consensus with other parties to produce a joint draft.
Turning to the meeting’s purpose, he assured the AK Party aimed to “transform the next election-free four years into a complete mobilization of service and action.”
