Politics
Erdoğan targeted for standing up to Netanyahu’s genocide: AK Party spox
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is being relentlessly targeted by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government because of his uncompromising stance against Israel’s genocide, massacres and crimes against humanity, the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) spokesman Ömer Çelik said Friday.
Çelik, who also serves as the deputy chair of Türkiye’s ruling party, was responding to a statement by the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office targeting Erdoğan.
In a post on social media, Çelik said the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office had used expressions about Erdoğan that should instead be used to describe Netanyahu.
“The reason the Netanyahu network targets our president day and night is that our president, on behalf of humanity, maintains an uncompromising stance against all the massacres and lies of this genocide and massacre network,” Çelik said.
He sharply criticized Netanyahu’s record, saying genocide, massacres, lies, killings and crimes against humanity have become the Israeli prime minister’s “identity card.”
Türkiye has emerged as one of the strongest critics of Israel’s war on Gaza, with Erdoğan repeatedly condemning Netanyahu’s government over the killing of Palestinians and calling for international accountability.
Türkiye’s Justice Ministry has requested that Interpol red notices be issued for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli official Afek Moskovitch over alleged genocide charges linked to an attack on activists aboard the Global Sumud Flotilla, Justice Minister Akın Gürlek said Friday.
Gürlek said arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Moskovitch were issued on July 14, 2026, as part of proceedings before Istanbul’s 11th High Criminal Court. The Justice Ministry subsequently asked the Interior Ministry to seek red notices for the two men to facilitate their international location and arrest, he said, adding that the relevant documents had been forwarded to the Foreign Ministry.
The case concerns an attack in international waters on activists aboard the Global Sumud Flotilla, which had set sail to deliver humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip.
Thirty-five defendants, including Netanyahu and Moskovitch, are being prosecuted in the case, Gürlek noted.
Turkish authorities accuse the two men of crimes against humanity, genocide, aggravated deprivation of liberty, intentional injury, torture, property damage, aggravated robbery and hijacking of transportation vehicles in connection with the armed intervention against the flotilla and the detention of activists.
Gürlek said Türkiye would continue pursuing legal action over alleged crimes committed in Gaza and rejected what he described as attempts to shield Israeli officials from accountability.
“We will resolutely use all the means available under national and international law,” the minister said.
He added that Türkiye, under President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, would continue supporting Palestinians and pursue steps aimed at holding those accused of crimes against humanity legally accountable.
Türkiye, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and five other countries on Friday categorically rejected Israel’s unlawful E1 settlement plan, warning that it threatens the viability of an independent Palestinian state and calling for international measures and sanctions against those responsible for illegal settlement activity.
In a joint statement, the foreign ministers of Türkiye, the UAE, Indonesia, Qatar, Egypt, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Jordan condemned Israel’s continued illegal settlement policies in the occupied Palestinian territories, including the E1 plan and related settlement activity east of occupied East Jerusalem.
The ministers also reiterated their condemnation of violations and violence committed by settlers against Palestinians and their property with the support of Israeli occupation authorities.
They stressed that such actions cannot extinguish the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people and constitute violations of international law and relevant United Nations resolutions, while posing a serious threat to regional and international peace and security.
The ministers warned that the E1 plan represents a dangerous escalation by further advancing settlement expansion and annexation and undermining the geographical contiguity of the occupied Palestinian territories, particularly between the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
They said the plan consequently threatens the establishment and viability of an independent and geographically contiguous Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
The statement said the Israeli violations directly challenge international efforts to achieve peace, particularly U.S. President Donald Trump’s Comprehensive Plan and mechanisms established for its implementation, including the Board of Peace, which explicitly reject annexation and forced displacement.
The ministers said the settlement push also runs counter to Trump’s strong commitment not to allow the annexation of the West Bank and threatens efforts to establish stability and bring the conflict to an end.
They reaffirmed that a two-state solution in accordance with international law and relevant U.N. resolutions remains the only viable path toward a just, comprehensive and lasting peace.
The ministers warned that attempts to undermine the two-state solution risk further escalating tensions, threatening regional and international peace and security and damaging prospects for lasting peace and stability in the region.
They voiced support for efforts to hold entities and individuals responsible for illegal settlement activity, including the E1 plan, accountable through appropriate international measures and sanctions.
The ministers also called for an end to any support or financing that contributes to the establishment, expansion or entrenchment of illegal settlements, warning that a lack of accountability enables further violations and weakens prospects for a just and comprehensive peace.
They called for immediate action to halt the E1 settlement plan, revoke all related measures and end settlement activity and other practices aimed at altering the geographical and demographic character of the occupied Palestinian territories.
The ministers further urged the U.N. Security Council, all states and relevant international actors to fulfill their obligations under international law and take urgent and effective measures to stop illegal settlement expansion, protect the Palestinian people and safeguard their inalienable rights, including the right to self-determination.
They also called for action toward the establishment of an independent Palestinian state in accordance with international law and relevant U.N. resolutions.
Türkiye’s Defense Ministry has mapped 172 Turkish military cemeteries and memorials across 48 countries as part of a yearlong project documenting the legacy of Turkish soldiers and officials who died far from home.
The “Turkish Military Cemeteries and Memorials Abroad Map,” prepared by the ministry’s General Directorate of Mapping, brings together locations stretching across several continents and has been made available online through the directorate’s website.
Lt. Col. Fatih Kalle, who coordinated the project, said researchers worked with the Foreign Ministry and the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) to collect data before consulting several academic and military institutions to verify its historical accuracy.
Kalle said the map could be expanded as previously undocumented burial sites are identified, noting that historical accounts suggest additional graves may exist in villages and former battlefields.
Researchers also sought to accurately depict the uniforms, weapons, military equipment and other historical elements from the periods represented on the map.
Illustrations include Turkish soldiers serving in areas such as Yemen and India, as well as Ottoman-era ships and military aircraft. Aircraft associated with Turkish personnel buried at Brookwood Cemetery in Britain were depicted with their historical tail numbers, Kalle said.
The project also commemorates diplomats, military personnel, security officers and civilian officials who died while serving at Turkish missions abroad, including those who were eventually buried in Türkiye.
The map further depicts the Trans-Siberian Railway to commemorate Ottoman soldiers held along the route during World War I.
Images of the Refah and TCG Kocatepe vessels were also included in memory of personnel who died at sea and have no individual graves, according to Kalle.
Officials said the project could be updated as research identifies additional Turkish military cemeteries and memorials around the world.
Businessman Aziz Ihsan Aktaş testified Monday in an Istanbul court that an alleged system of pressure and payments within the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IBB) was designed in part to finance the political career of former Mayor Ekrem Imamoğlu as the sprawling corruption trial involving 414 defendants continued.
Aktaş, who is being tried without detention, presented his defense at the 68th hearing of the case before Istanbul’s 33rd High Criminal Court. Fifty-three of the 414 defendants are currently in custody.
The case centers on prosecutors’ allegations of a criminal organization led by Imamoğlu. The defendants face various accusations of alleged corruption involving the municipality and its affiliates.
Aktaş told the court that he had been arrested as part of the investigation widely known as the Beşiktaş case before voluntarily applying to prosecutors in April 2025 to benefit from Türkiye’s effective repentance provisions. He said he made the decision without pressure or direction from others.
“The structure I encountered was established under the leadership of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Ekrem Imamoğlu,” Aktaş said.
He claimed that requests for money attributed to Imamoğlu were conveyed through presidential advisers Ertan Yıldız and Ibrahim Bülbüllü, Istanbul lawmaker and former CHP Deputy Chair Özgür Karabat and other intermediaries.
Aktaş alleged that outstanding payments owed by municipal bodies were deliberately withheld to pressure businesses into making payments. Companies could also face threats of penalties, contract terminations or difficulties with zoning and licensing procedures if they refused the demands, he claimed.
“One of the most important fundamental purposes of the system was to finance Ekrem Imamoğlu’s political career,” Aktaş told the court.
Aktaş described what he alleged was a recurring method in which payments legitimately owed to contractors were delayed until businesspeople agreed to provide money demanded by people linked to the purported system.
He said the payments were not deposited into municipal or official donation accounts but were instead withdrawn in cash and delivered to intermediaries at locations including hotels and private offices.
“The people, dates and companies are different, but the method is the same,” he said.
Aktaş argued that the alleged operation could not be explained as the independent actions of a handful of lower-ranking municipal officials.
He further claimed that in one case a demand for money was explicitly conveyed to him as an “instruction from Ekrem Imamoğlu,” while in another he was allegedly warned that payments owed to his companies would be withheld.
Aktaş also referred to a meeting at the mayoral residence in Florya, where he said demands were communicated to companies by one of Imamoğlu’s advisers.
“These concrete repetitions lead to a clear conclusion,” Aktaş alleged. “Ekrem Imamoğlu used the office of mayor to collect money for the system.”
Aktaş also alleged that Karabat contacted him during the 2024 local election campaign and told him companies doing business with CHP-run municipalities in Istanbul were expected to provide money for the campaign.
According to Aktaş, Karabat told him during a meeting at a hotel in Istanbul’s Esenyurt district that he was required to pay TL 5 million (about $104,000), citing an instruction from Imamoğlu. Aktaş claimed he was warned that companies belonging to him and his relatives could otherwise face delays in receiving payments.
Aktaş said he ultimately arranged for the TL 5 million to be delivered to another defendant, Sırrı Küçük, through an intermediary.
He separately alleged that people acting through Ertan Yıldız and Burak Korzay demanded $970,000 while payments to companies owned by his brothers were being delayed.
Aktaş claimed he delivered the $970,000 to a hotel in Istanbul’s Kilyos district on Jan. 19, 2024, after being told outstanding payments could otherwise remain blocked.
Claims of TL 84.9 million
Aktaş also testified about a meeting involving companies carrying out maintenance and repair work for Istanbul’s public transportation authority, IETT.
He alleged that during a subsequent meeting at the mayoral residence in Florya, companies were told they could face difficulties in fulfilling their contracts and receiving payments if they rejected demands from the municipal administration.
According to Aktaş, businesses were asked to make payments totaling 10% of their contract values as progress payments were received.
He claimed that between 2020 and 2024, businesses associated with him made payments totaling TL 84.86 million ($1.77 million) under the alleged arrangement.
Aktaş said the episodes he described demonstrated what he characterized as a coordinated structure operating under Imamoğlu’s leadership, with different intermediaries but a consistent method of allegedly withholding legitimate payments to extract money from businesses.
Following Aktaş’s testimony, lawyers for Imamoğlu and other defendants questioned him about his allegations.
The court adjourned proceedings until Tuesday, Aug. 25, when it is expected to continue hearing defenses.
Türkiye’s Defense Ministry condemned Thursday Israel’s latest strike on Syria’s Abu al-Duhur air base as part of “reckless attacks” undermining the country’s sovereignty and stability, while reaffirming Ankara’s support for Syria’s military capacity-building efforts.
The ministry made the statement after its weekly press briefing aboard the TCG Koçhisar in the northwestern province of Kocaeli as part of the TEKNOFEST Blue Homeland events.
It described the Israeli strike as an action aimed at damaging Syria’s stability, security, unity, territorial integrity and infrastructure.
“We emphasize at every opportunity that attacks violating Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity are unacceptable,” the ministry said, calling on Israel to end what it described as “reckless attacks” and comply with international law.
Türkiye will continue supporting Syria’s efforts to rebuild its infrastructure and military capabilities under the principle of “one army,” the ministry added.
The strikes by Israeli warplanes targeted Tuesday the disused Abu al-Duhur Military Air Base, located in northeastern Syria’s Idlib. According to Syrian officials, Israeli aircraft launched eight separate strikes on the facility, damaging its runway and striking a derelict structure inside a hangar.
No casualties or injuries were immediately reported following the operation.
The ministry also stated that no Turkish military delegation was present at Syria’s Abu al-Duhur Air Base before or during a recent Israeli strike, in response to reporters’ questions.
The statement came as Türkiye has stepped up military diplomacy over regional security. Asked about a series of telephone calls held Wednesday by Chief of General Staff Gen. Selçuk Bayraktaroğlu, the ministry said Türkiye had become a center for regional security diplomacy.
Both Defense Minister Yaşar Güler and Bayraktaroğlu were holding talks with their counterparts aimed at promoting regional security and stability, it said.
Syria’s neighbors and regional partners also responded with sharp rebukes, calling on the global community to enforce international legal standards against unilateral military actions.
Israel threatens regional peace
Rear Adm. Zeki Aktürk, the ministry’s spokesperson, also criticized Israel over its military operations in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria.
Aktürk said Israel’s rejection of the Gaza plan and its continued attacks were undermining efforts to establish a just and lasting peace. He said Israel’s military interventions against neighboring countries should not be allowed to become viewed as normal or acceptable.
“The future of the region should be built not on the unilateral use of force, but on a security understanding based on international law and respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of countries,” Aktürk said.
He called on the international community to take “more concrete and effective measures” in response to Israeli actions that Türkiye says threaten regional peace and stability.
The ministry separately addressed Greece’s Renewable Energy Sources Special Spatial Framework covering parts of the Aegean Sea, saying Ankara was closely monitoring the measure.
The framework has no legal consequences for Türkiye, including with regard to geographical formations whose sovereignty was not transferred to Greece under international treaties, the ministry noted.
Türkiye remains determined to protect its “rights, interests and concerns” in the Aegean in accordance with international law, it said, while adding that Ankara favors resolving disputes between the two neighboring countries through international law, equity and good-neighborly relations.
Aktürk also said Türkiye would continue efforts to strengthen its armed forces with domestically developed strategic and technological defense products.
Güler and the Turkish Armed Forces’ (TSK) command staff were expected to attend the TEKNOFEST Blue Homeland event later Thursday.
Türkiye, Egypt and Qatar on Thursday strongly condemned Israel’s latest attacks on the Gaza Strip that killed civilians, including women and children, warning that the escalation risks undermining efforts to maintain the cease-fire and advance negotiations.
The three countries, which have served as mediators in efforts to end the conflict in Gaza, expressed “deep concern” over continuing Israeli violations.
In a joint statement, Türkiye, Egypt and Qatar said the latest attacks came at a critical stage as intensive diplomatic efforts were underway to implement the Comprehensive Plan to End the Gaza Conflict.
The mediators said constructive steps had been taken in negotiations, including talks between the Board of Peace and Israeli officials, and warned that an intensification of Israeli attacks could derail regional and international efforts toward a lasting settlement.
“The mediator countries underscore that the intensification of Israeli attacks at this critical stage undermines regional and international efforts,” the statement said.
The three countries called on Israel to fully comply with all of its obligations under the cease-fire agreement and refrain from actions that could further weaken the truce or fuel another escalation.
Türkiye, Egypt and Qatar have played key roles in diplomatic efforts aimed at maintaining the Gaza cease-fire and advancing negotiations between the parties.
The mediators also called for greater international pressure to ensure compliance with the agreement amid concerns that renewed violence could jeopardize diplomatic efforts to stabilize Gaza.
Citing what they called the “devastating consequences” of continuing Israeli aggression across the region, the three countries renewed their appeal to the international community and the Board of Peace, led by U.S. President Donald Trump.
They called for necessary measures to ensure adherence to the cease-fire and prevent further escalation.
The statement also cited U.N. Security Council Resolution 2803, which backs the diplomatic framework for Gaza.
The latest appeal comes as mediators seek to preserve the cease-fire while pushing forward implementation of the broader plan to end the conflict and prevent renewed hostilities.
Türkiye, Egypt and Qatar reiterated that maintaining the cease-fire was essential to protecting diplomatic progress and preventing further civilian casualties and regional instability.
The death toll in Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza has climbed to 73,417, with another 10 Palestinians killed and 25 others wounded over the past 24 hours, the Health Ministry said Thursday.
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