Erdogan: Israel’s strikes on Lebanon and Syria threaten Turkey, its ‘aggression’ must be stopped

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan says that Israel’s attacks on Syria and Lebanon have reached a point where they also threaten Turkey, adding Israel’s “aggression” poses a threat to the whole world and must be stopped.

Israel says it is acting against the ongoing threat posed by the Hezbollah terror group in south Lebanon, and argues that the terms of the ceasefire allow it to do so.

In Syria, Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes since the overthrow of president Bashar al-Assad in December 2004 — though not since March — while also initiating an unprecedented dialogue with the new authorities.

Speaking to lawmakers in parliament, Erdogan also claims there were initiatives led by Israel to destabilize the Mediterranean region and warns that “nobody should chase adventures” or join Israel’s “boat of mischief.”

He says any moves violating the rights of Turks and Turkish Cypriots will be met with a clear and strong response from Ankara. It is unclear what Erdogan was referring to.

The comments come just days after Turkey’s interior minister said that his country will one day bring about the “liberation” of Jerusalem, vowing to restore Turkish control to the city that the Ottoman Empire ruled for hundreds of years.

Those comments drew sharp rebuke from Israel, with the Foreign Ministry saying that the “Ottoman Empire is gone” and that Jerusalem “shall remain the eternal capital of Israel.”

Israel’s relations with Turkey, which were once the Jewish state’s strongest with any country in the region, have drastically deteriorated in recent years, especially since the start of the war sparked by the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attack.

Erdogan has since been one of the most harshly critical foreign leaders of Israel, accusing Jerusalem of genocide and war crimes, praising ICC arrest warrants against Israeli leaders, and calling on the UN to recommend the use of force against Israel.

Turkey regularly hosts Hamas leaders, and Erdogan has praised the group’s terrorists as “freedom fighters” while condemning Israel, including by comparing it to Nazi Germany and likening Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Hitler. The country has also suspended trade with Israel, and Turkish air carriers have stopped flying to Israel.