For the Turkish president, it is a matter of preparing for the 2024 municipal elections, and of ensuring the support of “small radical Islamist parties”, explains Ahmet Insel.
“Supporting Hamas is the most natural thing in the world” for Recep Tayyip Erdogan, “but he is not anti-Israel. His political party has always been in close contact with Hamas”, explained Saturday October 28 on franceinfo Ahmet Insel, economist, political scientist, and former professor at the University of Galatasaray, in Turkey. The Turkish President asked, on X (ex-Twitter)to Israel “to stop this madness immediately” and of “put an end to his attacks” against Gaza.
“He is playing on his core electorate. In Turkey, municipal elections take place in March 2024, analyzes Ahmet Insel. He seeks to satisfy “anti-Zionist, pro-Palestinian voters. In Turkey, beyond Recep Tayyip Erdogan, approximately 75 to 80% of the population supports the demands of the Palestinians.”
“To be able to win the elections, he needs the support of the nationalist far right and small radical Islamist parties. This is how he obtained 51% of the vote” in the presidential election.
Ahmet Insel, economist, political scientistat franceinfo
According to the researcher, these are “the virulence of Israel’s attacks on Gaza, the war crimes committed openly, and the overly open support of the United States”which pushed Erdogan to take a stand for Hamas.
Turkey could have played the role of mediator, but “It is now more difficult. For several months, Recep Tayyip Erdogan had started to rebuild ties with Israel and he was supposed to go there soon. But on Wednesday, he announced that he would not go.”
This turnaround in the situation postpones the gas contracts that were going to be signed. “In this position, it is more difficult for Erdogan to play an intermediary role. But we must be wary because he is capable of changing his position overnight without any explanation”estimates the political scientist.