I have long since run out of ways to ask why we are still keeping Turkey as a member of NATO as long as Recep Tayyip Erdogan is in charge. Yesterday, however, he gave us yet another reason to raise the question and displayed where his loyalties truly lie. Erdogan hosted Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh at the Dolmabahce Palace in Istanbul and rather than urging peace or a return of the hostages, he released a statement urging Palestinians to “unite for victory” over Israel. He called on the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank to unite with Hamas against the Jews, calling it “vital” for them to do so. Pretty much all of NATO is siding with Israel against Hamas, but now one of our supposed allies is siding with the terrorists. I’m sure Erdogan will be receiving an invitation to speak at Cornell any day now. (Times of Israel)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday urged Palestinians to unite for “victory” amid Israel’s war in Gaza, following hours-long talks with Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh in Istanbul, his office said.
Erdogan, who has called Hamas a “liberation group” and Israel worse than the Nazis, has tried and failed to establish a foothold as a mediator in the Gaza conflict that has roiled the region.
Erdogan said Palestinian unity was “vital” following the talks at the Dolmabahce Palace on the banks of the Bosphorus strait, which Turkish media reports said lasted more than two and a half hours.
Qatar is close to throwing in the towel in its current role as a mediator between Hamas and Israel. Erdogan has made no secret of the fact that he would like to step in and assume that role. But why would Israel, the United States, or any of our allies want to see the Turkish president take up that role if he’s cheerleading for the terrorists? Erdogan said that he would, “continue as long as God gives me my life, to defend the Palestinian struggle and to be the voice of the oppressed Palestinian people.”
Keep in mind that last year, after the October 7 terror attacks, Erdogan compared Bibi Netanyahu to Hitler and called Israel a “terrorist state.” Turkey has been sending large quantities of food, medicine, and other aid to Gaza, which is fine. But now Erdogan is taking things to an entirely new level and demonstrating where his true alliances are. Israel’s Foreign Minister quickly said that Erdogan would not be welcome to visit Israel and he could at most pass messages between Israel and Hamas.
The United States sends more than $100 million in general aid to Turkey annually on top of an even larger amount of military aid. Turkey benefits enormously from its membership in NATO. In exchange, Erdogan has been cutting deals with Russia, China, and Venezuela. He purchased Russian missile systems in defiance of NATO restrictions. He has literally kept American citizens hostage in Turkish prisons. And now he is openly backing the terrorists of Hamas and rooting for the defeat of Israel.
When is enough more than enough? With these sorts of “allies,” we might as well not have any friends. Remember that it was Turkey that held up Sweden’s application to Join NATO for months on end, clearly because Erdogan was afraid of angering Vladimir Putin. Under Erdogan, Turkey has been playing both sides against the middle for far too long. The United States is confronting a new axis of evil, along with all of our true allies. It’s time for everyone to pick a side, and this week Recep Tayyip Erdogan has made it pretty clear which side he would rather be on.