The President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan stands against the European and American positions on the war between Israel and Hamas: «Hamas is not a terrorist organization» – he said in a speech to the parliamentary group of his AKP party – they are «patriots», mujahideen who "fight for the liberation of their land". Israel is carrying out "a massacre that is taking on the proportions of a genocide", and the West "is complicit". And again: “About half of those killed in the Israeli attacks on Gaza are children, even this figure shows that the goal is an atrocity, to commit premeditated crimes against humanity.” Erdogna's exit is followed by new tensions and controversies while in Israel Prime Minister Nethanyahu confirms that the invasion of Gaza will take place and that, after the war, the time will come for responsibility for what happened, "including me".
Erdogan with Hamas: they are patriots
And so the Turkish president, who has just given the green light to Sweden's entry into NATO and reassured the Western allies, distances himself again. Erdogan has long sympathized with the cause of Hamas in Palestine, the movement holds political positions in Turkey, and the leaders of the organization have met with Erdogan several times, although Turkey does not like Hamas' closeness to Iran. On the Hamas-Israel war, the Turkish president is trying to stay on a double track: on the one hand he has resumed relations with Israel for security, commercial and energy reasons; on the other hand he espouses the positions of Hamas, changing course compared to the days immediately following the October 7 massacre in which he had tried to remain equidistant with the intention of obtaining a role as mediator in the affair.
Israel: diplomatic tension is rising even with the UN
Diplomatic tension therefore continues to rise not only between Israel and Erdogan but also, once again, with the UN secretary general, Antonio Guterres, who Israel accuses of defending Hamas. Guterres explained that he was "shocked" by how his words were interpreted: "It is false to claim that I justified Hamas' acts of terrorism," he said. “I have clearly reiterated that nothing can justify the killing, wounding and abduction of civilians.”
However, the Israeli ambassador to the UN, Gilad Erdan, has again called for his resignation, threatening to deny visas to UN officials. The secretary general's spokesperson did not comment on the request, while words of support came from several countries including Spain. «All my affection and support for the secretary – said Pedro Sánchez. What he is doing is raising the voice of a large majority of the world's society who is calling for a "humanitarian pause" in the conflict.
Netanyahu: the invasion of Gaza will take place, I will also answer on October 7th
Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu guarantees that the invasion of Gaza will take place, even if the Wall Street Journal writes that he has accepted President Biden's request to postpone it, to give the US time to strengthen its defenses in the event of the conflict spreading to Iran. Netanyahu then said that at the end of the war everyone will be held accountable for the security failure that allowed the Hamas massacres of October 7, "including me." That phrase, “including me”, postpones everything until after the war, but no one can now say how long it will last. Everyone expects that sooner or later a commission of inquiry will establish who is responsible for October 7 and Netanyahu, according to the Israeli press, would like to blame the generals. In the speech he also promised that there would be funds to rebuild the devastated kibbutzim and communities.
