President Erdogan: Türkiye could 'enter' Israel

According to RIA Novosti, speaking at a meeting of the ruling party in Rize province on July 28, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that his country could "enter" Israel in the same way it entered Libya and Nagorno-Karabakh.

The head of Türkiye noted the achievements of the country's defense industry, but, according to him, if those achievements were more effective, Israel "would not have done what they did to Palestine."

“We must be as strong as we entered Nagorno-Karabakh, and Libya. We will do the same with Israel,” President Erdogan said.

Relations between Israel and Türkiye have deteriorated sharply since the escalation of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict began in October 2023. Ankara has condemned Tel Aviv's actions in the Gaza Strip from the very first days and accused it of carrying out massacres of Palestinian civilians. Turkey has repeatedly called for a ceasefire and has also put pressure on the Jewish state.

In particular, in early May, the Turkish Ministry of Trade announced a complete suspension of trade with Israel. Previously, Ankara had restricted the export of 54 small groups of goods to Israel.

Responding to President Erdogan's statement, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz accused President Erdogan of violating agreements by blocking Israeli import and export ports.

Foreign Minister Katz also warned that Tel Aviv would respond accordingly to Ankara. He also called on the US ally to stop investing and impose sanctions on Türkiye.