Israel Recalls Diplomats From Turkey Over Erdoğan’s Speech

Israel withdrew its diplomats from Turkey and is currently reevaluating its diplomatic relationship with Ankara following a strongly-worded speech by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in which he criticized Israel’s actions in Gaza.

During the weekend, President Erdogan addressed a significant pro-Palestinian gathering in Istanbul. Without specifying any particular countries, he blamed the Western world for its role in the Gaza conflict, referring to it as the primary instigator of the massacre.

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At the ‘Great Palestine Meeting’ in Istanbul, attended by over a million people, President Erdogan accused Western nations of granting Israel a license to harm Palestinians and decried the massacre in forceful terms. He emphasized that while every nation has the right to self-defense, justice was lacking in this situation.

Erdogan criticized Washington and other major powers for shedding tears over civilian deaths in Ukraine while turning a blind eye to Palestinian casualties.

In response to his speech, Israel called back its diplomatic representatives from Ankara and is now reassessing the relationship between the two countries.

Israel’s actions included weeks of bombing in Gaza and the forced eviction of Palestinian civilians from their homes. Communication has been severed in the occupied Palestinian territories.

The Gaza health ministry reported on Sunday that over 8,000 people had been killed in the Palestinian territory since the commencement of Israeli bombing on October 7, with more than 3,600 children losing their lives in the ongoing conflict.