Turkey's Erdogan threatens to invade Israel, in escalation of harsh rhetoric over Gaza war

(JTA) — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan openly threatened to invade Israel in support of the Palestinians as fears of a war with Hezbollah escalate — a shocking comment from a member of NATO, the international alliance of Western nations.

“We must be very strong so that Israel can’t do these ridiculous things to Palestine,” Erdogan said on Sunday during a party meeting that was televised, according to media reports. “Just like we entered Karabakh, just like we entered Libya, we might do similar to them.”

He added, “There is no reason why we cannot do this.”

Erdogan has long had a rocky relationship with Israel, and over the past 10 months, he has condemned Israel over its war in Gaza, offered “firm” support for Hamas and said that God would curse Benjamin Netanyahu.

His threat to invade Israel referenced military assistance Turkey has provided to Azerbaijan in its recent campaign to conquer the Nagorno-Karabakh region from Armenia, which resulted in the ethnic cleansing of about 100,000 Armenians from the region. Israel also supported Azerbaijan through arms sales. Turkey has also sent troops to Libya to maintain order since the 2020 conclusion of the country’s civil war.

Israeli officials immediately condemned Erdogan’s comment. Foreign Minister Israel Katz tweeted a picture of Erdogan alongside a photo taken of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein after his 2003 capture by U.S. forces, writing, “Erdogan follows in the footsteps of Saddam Hussein and threatens to attack Israel. He should remember what happened there and how it ended.”

The comment follows months of escalation from Erdogan over the Israel-Hamas war. The Islamist party leader has long spoken warmly about Hamas, occasionally hosting its leaders, and engaged in several high-profile diplomatic spats with Israel since coming to power more than 20 years ago. But this spring, in advance of elections in which Erdogan’s party sought to win back ground from its secular opposition, the president ramped up his shows of solidarity with the Palestinians, with whom Turks are broadly sympathetic.

The campaign was not only rhetorical. In May, Turkey abruptly canceled all trade with Israel, a potentially costly move that has interrupted a range of markets.

Still, his latest comment was notable because Turkey is a member of NATO, the alliance formed after World War II that includes a commitment to the security of the other members. No NATO country is permitted to attack any other, and all are obligated to provide defensive aid in the case of attack by other states.

Erdogan’s comments represent a stark departure from the expectations of NATO countries, but so far criticism has been muted. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, who has expressed frustration with Turkey in the past, did not immediately offer public comment.

The only NATO member so far to condemn Erdogan’s comments was the Netherlands, where the right-wing prime minister Geert Wilders, known for his campaign against the influence of Islam in Europe, tweeted that Turkey should be ejected from the alliance, something that has never happened before.

“Islamofascist Erdogan threatens to invade Israel,” Wilders said. “This guy is totally nuts. Turkey should be kicked out of NATO.”