(Istanbul) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared on Saturday that he was breaking all contact with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Ankara is recalling its ambassador in reaction to Israel’s operation in the Gaza Strip, on the eve of a visit by the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Turkey.
“Netanyahu is no longer someone we can talk to. We have given up on him,” declared Mr. Erdogan, according to comments reported by Turkish media.
Shortly after, Turkey announced the recall of its ambassador to Israel for consultations, due to Israel’s refusal to accept a ceasefire in Gaza.
It was only last year that the two countries appointed ambassadors again, after a decade of almost frozen relations. And they had resumed discussions on the construction of an oil pipeline, a project supported by the United States and which could have laid the basis for more lasting cooperation between the two countries.
But on Saturday, the Turkish Foreign Ministry announced that Ambassador Sakir Ozkan Torunlar had been recalled given “the ongoing humanitarian tragedy in Gaza caused by Israel’s incessant attacks on civilians and Israel’s refusal ( to accept) a cease-fire”.
The spokesperson for the Israeli Foreign Ministry, Lior Haiat, denounced “a new measure by the Turkish president which places itself alongside the terrorist organization Hamas”.
On October 25, Mr. Erdogan, who met Benjamin Netanyahu for the first time in September in New York, announced that he was abandoning all his plans to travel to Israel, claiming to have been “abused” by the Israeli Prime Minister.
Blinken expected in Türkiye
“You will not find any other state whose army behaves with such inhumanity,” he said regarding the reprisals carried out by Israel in Gaza, after the bloody attack launched by Hamas against Israel on October 7 and which left 1,400 dead on the Israeli side, mostly civilians.
He also toughened his tone towards Western supporters of Israel, notably the United States.
These announcements from Ankara come on the eve of a visit by American Secretary of State Antony Blinken to Turkey. Mr. Blinken, who visited Israel on Friday and Jordan on Saturday, is expected in Ankara on Sunday for two days, the last stop on his tour in the region.
But the visit promises to be difficult, and demonstrations are expected on Sunday in protest against American support for Israel, particularly around the American air base at Incirlik, in southeastern Turkey.
Netanyahu “mainly responsible”
PHOTO ARCHIVES REUTERS
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
The Palestinian Hamas Health Ministry said on Saturday that 9,488 people, including 3,900 children, had been killed in the Gaza Strip since the start of the war with Israel, which has carried out incessant air raids there.
After Mr. Erdogan’s diatribe, Israel announced on October 29 to withdraw all its diplomats from Turkey. But on October 19 he had already asked his diplomats to temporarily leave the country as a “security measure”.
Mr. Erdogan clarified on Saturday that Turkey was not breaking diplomatic relations with Israel.
“Completely severing ties is not possible, especially in international diplomacy,” Erdogan said.
He explained that the head of the Turkish Intelligence Agency (MIT), Ibrahim Kalin, was spearheading Turkey’s efforts to try to end the war, through mediation.
“Ibrahim Kalin speaks with the Israeli side. Of course, he also negotiates with Palestine and Hamas,” Mr Erdogan said.
But according to him, Mr. Netanyahu is mainly responsible for the violence and has “lost the support of his own citizens […] What he needs to do is step back and put an end to this situation.”