Turkish President Erdoğan claims Israel’s “aggressive attitude” caused Iranian attack
In early March, the Turkish leader stressed the country’s close ties with Hamas leaders.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Tuesday blamed the Netanyahu government for Iran's unprecedented direct aerial attack on Israel last weekend.
“The main one responsible for the tension that gripped our hearts on the evening of April 13 is Netanyahu and his bloody administration,” Erdoğan stated on Turkish television.
The Turkish leader further claimed that Israel’s “aggressive attitude” was the cause of unrest in the Middle East, including the war in Gaza.
“Those who have been silent for months about Israel’s aggressive attitude immediately condemned the Iranian response,” the Turkish president said. “But it’s Netanyahu himself who is the first who should be condemned.”
Erdoğan, an Islamist radical with close ties to the Iranian and its terror proxy Hamas, further claimed that the alleged Israeli elimination of a top Iranian Quds Force general in Damascus on April 1 “was the straw that broke the camel’s back.”
Before Erdoğan's leadership, Israel and Turkey maintained close military and intelligence cooperation. However, during the last two decades, under the influence of Turkey's current Islamist government, the nation has shifted away from its previous pro-Israel and pro-Western stance towards a more pro-Iran and pro-Hamas Islamist alignment.
While Erdoğan has focused on condemning the Israeli government under the leadership of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, he has consistently refused to criticize Hamas and remained silent when the Iranian-backed terror organization Hamas launched an unprecedented invasion of southern Israel and massacred over 1,200 Israelis on Oct. 7, mostly civilians. Erdoğan has also not condemned Hezbollah in Lebanon, Iran’s most powerful terror proxy, which began its attacks against Israel the day after, effectively opening a second front on Israel's northern border.
In early March, the Turkish leader stressed the country’s close ties with Hamas leaders.
“Turkey is a country that speaks openly with Hamas leaders and firmly backs them,” Erdoğan stated. “No one can make us qualify Hamas as a terrorist organization,” he added.
Erdoğan, whose country is a NATO member state, compared Netanyahu with Nazi leader Adolf Hitler.
“Netanyahu and his administration, with their crimes against humanity in Gaza, are writing their names next to Hitler, Mussolini and Stalin, like today’s Nazis,” he said.
In late March, Israel formally reprimanded the Turkish embassy envoy in Tel Aviv after Erdoğan threatened to “send Netanyahu to Allah.”
Despite Erdoğan's attempt to attribute responsibility to Israel for the recent Iranian attack, the conflict between Iran and Israel predates the elimination of Iranian General Mohammad Reza Zahedi on April 1.
The Islamic Republic of Iran has openly threatened to wipe Israel off the map for years and has used its Middle East terror proxies, including Hezbollah, Hamas and the Houthis, to stir up violence in the region.
Israel has not officially claimed responsibility for the airstrike that resulted in Zahedi's assassination, however, the general led a coalition of anti-Israel terror militias in Syria and Lebanon and had been plotting new attacks against the Jewish state with senior officials Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), a Hamas ally.
Israel, the United States, the United Kingdom and other allied nations successfully intercepted 99% of the incoming Iranian drones and missiles in the early morning hours on Sunday. One Arab Bedouin Israeli girl was seriously wounded in the Iranian attack, however, no casualties were reported.
U.S. Ambassador Robert Wood urged the UN Security Council to condemn Iran and emphasized that the ayatollah regime deliberately intended to target civilians and cause damage
“Iran’s intent was to cause significant damage and death in Israel,” Wood stated.
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The All Israel News Staff is a team of journalists in Israel.
