Erdogan Risks Rift With West After Speech Bashing Israel

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan risks a rift with his nation's western partners after launching a vehement criticism of Israel's actions towards Gaza, as well as those nations that have supported the Netanyahu gov't in the aftermath of the 7 Oct Hamas attacks.

• Speaking to the parliamentary faction of his right-wing Justice and Development Party (AKP), Erdogan said that Israel, “can view Hamas as a terrorist organization along with the West. The West owes you a lot. But Turkey does not owe you anything.” He added that “Hamas is not a terrorist organization, it is a group of mujahideen [liberation movement] defending their lands,”
• The improvement in Israeli-Turkish relations of recent months has come to an abrupt end, with Erdogan stating that, “We had a project to go to Israel, but it was canceled, we will not go,”
• In the aftermath of this speech, Italian Deputy PM Matteo Salvini called Erdogan's comments "disgusting", and said he would suggest the Foreign Minister summon the Turkish ambassador.
• Erdogan went on to claim that he would look to both mediate in any peace process and act as a guarantor of Palestinian security. However, given his hard line comments towards Israel and the West it could prove difficult for Erdogan to be accepted as a reliable arbiter in any eventual talks (which remain extremely unlikely any time soon).