11/18/2023 10:49 pm (current 11/18/2023 10:49 pm)
The Turkish president continues to protest against Israel ©APA/dpa
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has once again described Israel as a “terrorist state” following his visit to Germany. “The person responsible for this terrorist state right now has made the Israeli people scream and revolt against themselves. That is why their end is near,” Erdogan said, referring to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. on Saturday, according to the state-run Anadolu news agency.
He associated the West and Germany with the Crusaders without explaining exactly what he meant by this. Western governments and the “crusader imperialist structure” were no different from each other. “Unfortunately, I saw this during my visit last night. I saw it in the president and also in the other person,” Erdogan said. He met German Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Berlin on Friday.
The Turkish president’s visit was controversial due to his verbal attacks against Israel in connection with the war in Gaza. Although Erdogan condemned the murder of hundreds of Israeli civilians in the October 7 terrorist attack, he later described Hamas, which was responsible, as a “liberation organization.” At the press conference with Scholz, Erdogan avoided further escalation.
However, he accused Israel of holding “hostages”. On Saturday, he called on Germany to commit to releasing “10,000 hostages taken by Israel.” What Erdogan was referring to was not completely clear. According to the United Nations, 1,500 Palestinians were incarcerated in Israeli prisons as of July this year.
Fighters from the Islamic terrorist organization Hamas from the Gaza Strip attacked Israel on October 7 and brutally killed around 1,200 people. At the same time, around 240 people were taken hostage. Israel then began massive airstrikes and a ground offensive in the Gaza Strip in late October. According to Palestinian information, more than 11,500 people have been killed so far.