Turkiye’s Erdogan scraps Israel trip over ‘inhumane’ Gaza war
October 27, 2023 at 5:09 pm
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the Presidential Complex in Ankara, Turkiye on October 26, 2023 [Doğukan Keskinkılıç/Anadolu Agency]
Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has called off a planned visit to Israel over its “inhumane” war in Gaza, saying relations between the two states would not improve, Aljazeera reports.
“We had a project to go to Israel, but it was cancelled; we will not go,” he told the governing party lawmakers in Parliament on Wednesday as he lambasted Israel’s bombing campaign in Gaza and defended Hamas.
Erdogan’s remarks extend deterioration in ties between Turkiye and Israel, which have had a rocky, back-and-forth relationship for years.
Turkiye froze links with Israel in 2010, after Israeli military forces carried out a raid on a Turkish ship heading to Gaza with aid supplies, killing 10 civilians.
While the two states restored ties in 2016, Turkiye, again, dismissed Israeli envoys in 2018 over Israel’s deadly crackdown on peaceful Palestinian protesters at Gaza’s fence with Israel.
![Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the Presidential Complex in Ankara, Turkiye on October 26, 2023 [Doğukan Keskinkılıç/Anadolu Agency]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/AA-20231026-32528909-32528892-RECEP_TAYYIP_ERDOGAN_SERDAR_BERDIMUHAMEDOV_MEETING_IN_ANKARA-scaled-e1698422913178.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1)
