President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Türkiye was facing a string of attacks targeting its unity, due to its support of the Palestinian cause.

Addressing a business forum on Friday in Istanbul, the president said the National Intelligence Organization (MIT) was dealing a blow to Türkiye’s "enemies" with its operations, pointing out to "terrorist groups acting as puppets of evil powers."

Although Türkiye boasted success against the terrorist group PKK, it lost 12 soldiers to terror attacks in Iraq last month. In retaliation, the Turkish army and intelligence launched strikes targeting the group in Iraq and Syria.

Erdoğan highlighted that Türkiye was seeing "more attacks targeting the brotherhood of the nation, the foundation of our country. I would like to stress that the most important reason for these heightened attacks is Türkiye's determination to protect its rights and interests and its upright stance on the Palestinian cause, without giving any concessions. In the case of the savagery in Gaza where 23,000 innocent people, mostly children and women are massacred, our country sided with the oppressed Palestinians and fearlessly defended the right cause and truth. As a matter of fact, our country's brave stand has a share in mounting international reaction against the Israeli administration's policy of violence," Erdoğan said.

The president has always championed the Palestinian cause for a free state since the early days of his political career and was the fiercest critic in the region of Israeli oppression of Palestinians in Gaza in the past. The renewed conflict came at a time of anticipated normalization of Turkish-Israeli ties before Türkiye severed diplomatic ties with Tel Aviv and rallied the world against the Netanyahu administration's "war crimes."

Türkiye is engaged in a diplomatic blitz for a lasting solution to the conflict, after an immediate humanitarian pause. Since the first day of the conflict, Türkiye has been trying to facilitate diplomatic channels to push for a cease-fire amid incessant Israeli airstrikes, which killed thousands and destroyed hospitals, homes, schools, marketplaces, churches, mosques, refugee camps and more. Erdoğan has assured that Türkiye is ready to undertake the responsibility of a regional security mechanism if it is established for the conflict and proposed a guarantorship model.

Turkish authorities are also working to bring crimes committed by Israel against Palestinian civilians before the International Criminal Court (ICC) through government agencies and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs).

Erdoğan did not openly explain how support for Palestinians led to attacks on Türkiye but authorities recently uncovered a network of suspects allegedly hired by Mossad to spy on Palestinians in the country. Türkiye also uncovered plots by Daesh and PKK to carry out attacks before the New Year.

"Our National Intelligence Organization is dealing heavy blows both in Türkiye and beyond our borders, on enemies of Türkiye and their puppets. Our armed forces and law enforcement forces do not give breathing room for puppets of evil powers," he said. Erdoğan said Türkiye's vision of "full independence" is becoming reality but those "accustomed to old Türkiye were naturally disturbed by this (change)."

"They are trying to circulate again outdated debates in a not-so-innocent way," he said, referring to several hot topics from alleged attempts to reinstate the "caliphate" to criticism of the government by some opposition figures making accusations of trying to remove the secular legacy of Atatürk, the country's founder.

Erdoğan hit out at criticism of conservative people and decried a plot to divide the nation by sowing the seeds of strife between people adapted to different lifestyles.

"We will not allow this. We will not sit idly while they are trying to incite people. We remember this toxic language and debates from the era of Feb. 28," he said, referring to a 1997 coup that was preceded by a witch hunt against conservative people.