Turkey’s Erdogan calls for Islamic countries to ally against ‘growing threat of expansionism’ from Israel

ISTANBUL – Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan calls for Islamic countries to ally against what he calls “the growing threat of expansionism” from Israel.

His comments come after describing what Palestinian and Turkish officials say was the killing by Israeli troops of a Turkish-American woman taking part in a protest on Friday against settlement expansion in the West Bank.

“The only step that will stop Israeli arrogance, Israeli banditry, and Israeli state terrorism is the alliance of Islamic countries,” Erdogan says at an Islamic schools’ association event near Istanbul.

He says recent steps that Turkey has taken to improve ties with Egypt and Syria are aimed at “forming a line of solidarity against the growing threat of expansionism,” which he says also threatens Lebanon and Syria.

Erdogan hosted Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in Ankara this week and they discussed the ongoing Gaza war and ways to further repair their long-frozen ties during what was the first such presidential visit in 12 years.

Ties between them started thawing in 2020 when Turkey began diplomatic efforts to ease tensions with estranged regional rivals, including the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.

There is no immediate comment from Israel on Erdogan’s remarks.