Erdogan accuses West of backing ‘Netanyahu’s plans to spread war’ throughout region
Turkish leader says ‘Western powers behind the scenes are patting Israel on the back and even supporting them’ amid rising global fears of all-out war between Israel, Hezbollah
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday accused Western powers of backing what he charged were Israeli plans to attack Lebanon and “spread war” throughout the region.
His remarks came as concern soared over the ongoing cross-border exchanges of fire between Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah and Israeli forces, fueling fears it could descend into fully-fledged war.
“Israel is now setting its sights on Lebanon and we see that Western powers behind the scenes are patting Israel on the back and even supporting them,” Erdogan told lawmakers from his ruling AKP party.
Prime Minister Benjamin “Netanyahu’s plans to spread the war to the region will lead to a great disaster,” he said.
Iran-proxy Hezbollah began firing rockets and launching drones at northern Israel on October 8, aiming to put pressure on Israel’s military in support of Hamas, but has indicated that the attacks will stop should the fighting in Gaza end. Near-daily skirmishes and cross-border fire on the northern border halted during a week-long truce in November, but efforts to secure a fresh deal have yet to bear fruit.
So far, the skirmishes on the border have resulted in 10 civilian deaths on the Israeli side, as well as the deaths of 15 Israel Defense Forces soldiers and reservists. There have also been several attacks from Syria, without any injuries. The Hezbollah attacks have displaced tens of thousands of residents from local towns and communities, and caused huge amounts of damage to homes and national parks.
Hezbollah has named 349 members who have been killed by Israel during the ongoing skirmishes, mostly in Lebanon, but some also in Syria. In Lebanon, another 64 operatives from other terror groups, a Lebanese soldier, and dozens of civilians have been killed. Tens of thousands have also fled their homes in south Lebanon.
An escalation in the conflict could also trigger wider involvement by other Iran-backed terror groups in the region or Tehran itself.
The United States has placed a major emphasis on keeping tensions on Israel’s northern border from snowballing into all-out war, working to broker a long-shot diplomatic deal while pinning its hopes on a ceasefire in Gaza leading to the restoration of calm between Israel and Hezbollah.
Erdogan, a vocal critic of Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza following the terror group’s devastating attack on October 7, has often expressed support for the Palestinian terrorist organization as defenders of their homeland.
Erdogan has also met with Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Istanbul, after which he encouraged Palestinians to unite against Israel.
He has also compared Israel to the Nazis and Netanyahu to Nazi leader Adolf Hitler.
Erdogan and Netanyahu have a long history of public attacks on each other, which have ebbed and flowed alongside Israel and Turkey’s on-again, off-again relations. The attacks had halted as Jerusalem and Ankara ties warmed, but the détente has seemingly fallen apart over the Israel-Hamas war.
In May, Erdogan announced that Turkey would halt all trade between his country and Israel.
