Israel’s foreign minister Israel Katz has urged NATO to expel Turkey after it threatened to invade Israel.
“In light of Turkish President Erdogan’s threats to invade Israel and his dangerous rhetoric, Foreign Minister Israel Katz instructed diplomats… to urgently engage with all NATO members, calling for the condemnation of Turkey and demanding its expulsion from the regional alliance,” the ministry said.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has openly warned that his nation could attack Israel in an attempt to help the population of Gaza.
“We have to be very strong so that Israel cannot do these things against the Palestinians,” Erdoğan said at a meeting of his AKP party in in his hometown Rize on the Black Sea on July 28.
“Just as we did in Nagorno-Karabakh, just as we did in Libya; we will do the same to them.
“There is nothing to prevent us from doing so. We just need to be strong enough to take these steps,” he said.
According to the Turkish news portal Haberler, yesterday Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatened Israel with an invasion from Turkey.
Erdogan stated, "We must be very strong so that Israel cannot do these things to Palestine. Just as we entered Karabakh and Libya, we… pic.twitter.com/ivgQLFKpMl
— Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en) July 29, 2024
The Turkish President also praised the defence industry of his country although he did shy away from giving concrete steps the nation might take against Israel.
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz first responded in a post on X. “Erdoğan is following in the footsteps of Saddam Hussein and threatens to attack Israel. Just let him remember what happened there and how it ended,” he wrote.
ארדואן הולך בדרכו של סדאם חוסיין ומאיים לתקוף את ישראל. רק שיזכור מה קרה שם ואיך זה הסתיים.@RTErdogan pic.twitter.com/6GykLtLoh4
— ישראל כ”ץ Israel Katz (@Israel_katz) July 28, 2024
That was in reference to the fact that following the American invasion of Iraq, Hussein was sentenced to death by hanging, after being convicted of crimes against humanity by the Iraqi Special Tribunal for the Dujail massacre.
Turkey deployed military personnel to Libya in support of the United Nations-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA).
That intervention helped shift the balance of power in Libya’s civil war. Turkey currently supports Libyan Prime Minister Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah, who leads the Government of National Unity in Tripoli.
While Ankara officially denied direct military involvement in Azerbaijan’s operations in Nagorno-Karabakh, it provided training, equipment and diplomatic backing.
Turkey’s support was seen as crucial in Azerbaijan’s successful campaign to reclaim territory in the disputed region.
Turkey is a prominent NATO member, having the second-largest army in the alliance and hosting the Allied Land Command headquarters.
Erdoğan’s remarks indicated a growing hostility between Turkey and Israel and came amid a flare-up in tensions between Israel and Hezbollah.
A rocket attack by the terrorist group on the Druze village of Majdal Shams in the Golan Heights on July 27 killed 12 children and wounded 40 others.
