Politics
Türkiye warns Israel to stop stoking tensions, pledges ‘strong response’
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Wednesday hit out at Israel’s expansionism and cooperation with Türkiye’s adversaries. “Türkiye will respond strongly and clearly against any threat to its sovereignty and the rights of Turkish Cypriots in the Eastern Mediterranean,” he said.
Addressing the parliamentary group meeting of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) in Ankara, Erdoğan also warned Israel against threatening the security of Syria and Lebanon. “Security of Damascus, Beirut means Türkiye’s security; we cannot accept fait accompli,” he said.
“We will never allow Israel to achieve its Promised Land plan,” Erdoğan added.
Türkiye is a fierce critic of Israel and one of the few countries in its region to openly defy the Netanyahu administration’s genocidal campaign of expansionism that spread from the Palestinian territories to Lebanon and beyond. For Ankara, Israel is the biggest obstacle to peace in the wider region. The country has exerted efforts for a diplomatic solution to the Palestine-Israel conflict and cut off all ties with Israel since the genocide in Gaza began three years ago. Erdoğan is at the forefront of the criticism and has repeatedly urged the international community to stop Israel before it embarked on another campaign of terror in Lebanon.
Erdoğan underlined that Israel’s aggressive stance posed a threat to humanity and recalled how inaction to Hitler led to the deaths of 80 million people 85 years ago. “Humanity paid the price for what a mad murderer did. The same mistake is being repeated now. Israel should be stopped now. This should be the duty of humanity. We should not allow history to repeat itself.”
In his speech on Wednesday, Erdoğan lamented successive crises and wars in the region culminating in “heartbreaking cries of the oppressed from Gaza to Lebanon.”
Erdoğan singled out Israel as a country functioning as a destabilizing force in the region, “always threatening peace, prosperity, security.”
“The occupation of Palestine and the genocide targeting Palestinians continue. Seventy-three thousand innocent people were slaughtered before the very eyes of the world in Gaza. This genocide is complimented with inhumane isolation of people. Israel has carried out the bloodiest genocide in mankind’s history and did not stop there. It attacked Iran and at the same time and began occupying Lebanon. Despite reactions by countries including Türkiye, it refuses withdrawal from Lebanon. Since March 2, the number of those killed in Lebanon has reached 3,700, and 11,400 people were injured,” he highlighted.
Erdoğan said that Israel simultaneously hatched a plan to destabilize African countries and the Mediterranean. “It is truly a generator of constant strife, a source of trouble spanning across a wide area,” he said.
The president decried the lack of international reaction to Israel’s illegal, immoral policies. “Under its current administration, Israel is spoiled and has become a source of threat not just for the region but for all of humanity. Attacks on Syria and Lebanon by Netanyahu and his network of murderers are now threatening Türkiye as well as these two brotherly countries,” Erdoğan underlined.
The president stressed that Syria and Lebanon had bonds of love and brotherhood with Türkiye. “Damascus and Beirut are sister cities of Istanbul. Türkiye’s security does not begin from Hatay (on the Syrian border). It starts from Damascus, from Beirut. We cannot tolerate any fait accompli in the countries of our brothers and sisters; we cannot turn a blind eye to attacks on them,” Erdoğan said.
Without naming him, Erdoğan slammed Israel’s defense minister, Israel Katz, who is known for his social media posts targeting Erdoğan and Türkiye. Katz recently drew the ire of Turks for a similar post in response to remarks by Interior Minister Mustafa Çiftçi.
“They are threatening Türkiye. We are aware of your intention. We know what you are pursuing; we are aware of the ambition of your ‘Promised Land’ delusion. We will not allow you to realize it,” Erdoğan said. The “Promised Land” is a foundational concept in Zionist ideology, corresponding roughly to modern-day Israel and parts of neighboring countries. According to extremist Zionist belief, it represents the land promised by God to them. For centuries, this concept has held immense significance in shaping Zionist identity, serving as a spiritual and historical anchor. It has fueled aggressive actions by many Zionist followers, who have used it to justify the killing of civilians in and around Israel through attacks and airstrikes.
Erdoğan also pointed out that Israel and its accomplices were engaged in starting “a fire” in the Mediterranean, especially in Cyprus, and said they were following the developments. Türkiye is a guarantor state in divided Cyprus and recognizes the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC). It has no ties to the Greek Cypriot administration based in parts of southern Cyprus.
Greek Cypriots have boosted their engagement with many countries, bolstering military cooperation in particular, with countries ranging from Israel to France and India. In the past two decades, it has signed agreements and protocols with the U.S., United Arab Emirates (UAE), Czechia, Armenia, France, India, Jordan, Egypt and Greece for military alliance, transfer of military technology and use of air and maritime bases. In 2016, it signed a Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) with Israel. The agreement’s content is not fully disclosed, but it is reported that the agreement allows Israel to use military bases and facilities in southern Cyprus, according to media reports. The Greek Cypriot administration also signed defense cooperation agreements with Israel in 2017 and 2024. The Greek Cypriot administration also signed a deal with France allowing deployment of French troops on the island. The deployment requires approval of Türkiye, Greece and the United Kingdom, guarantor states of the divided island.
The president said “some small circles whose ambitions are bigger than their size” have jumped on the Israeli bandwagon and served as “contractors of Zionism.”
“They are chasing dreams in the Eastern Mediterranean. Let me be clear: Do not engage in adventures, do not ride on the tails of the Zionist network of murderers. Our response to attempts at rights and sovereignty of Türkiye and Turkish Cypriots in the Eastern Mediterranean will be clear and very strong,” he said.
A deepening power struggle within Türkiye’s main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) escalated Thursday after 28 members resigned from the party’s governing council, while party leaders moved to expel nine lawmakers allied with Özgür Özel, highlighting a growing institutional crisis following a court ruling that invalidated recent party congresses.
The latest developments exposed widening divisions between supporters of reinstated leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu and those backing Özel, who claims he is still the legitimate chair of the party; Özel rallied supporters at Parliament in the meantime, now under the title of the party’s “parliamentary group chair.”
CHP lawmaker Zeynel Emre announced that 28 members of the Party Assembly (PM), the party’s highest decision-making body between congresses, had formally submitted their resignations through a notary public.
“The congress must be convened from this point forward. Failing to do so would be a crime,” Emre told reporters at Parliament. “If they remain and insist on continuing, they will also be committing the offense of unlawfully assuming duties.”
Emre argued that under CHP bylaws, the Party Assembly loses its ability to function when membership falls below a required threshold following resignations and replacement procedures.
He said the party chair would then be obligated to convene a congress within 45 days to elect a new assembly.
According to Emre, the CHP could face serious legal risks if a congress is not held before July 25, including potential challenges to its eligibility to participate in elections.
The resignations came one day after the CHP’s Central Executive Board (MYK), chaired by Kılıçdaroğlu, voted unanimously to refer nine prominent lawmakers to the party’s High Disciplinary Board (YDK) with a request for permanent expulsion.
Those referred include deputy parliamentary group leader Ali Mahir Başarır and senior lawmakers Veli Ağbaba, Gökhan Günaydın, Özgür Karabat, Burhanettin Bulut, Umut Akdoğan, Nurhayat Altaca Kayışoğlu, Turan Taşkın Özer and Ensar Aytekin.
On the other hand, the CHP Party Assembly was scheduled to convene on Thursday with its remaining 28 members after the resignation of 28 assembly members.
The meeting, chaired by CHP Chair Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, began at party headquarters in Ankara.
Moreover, party spokesperson Müslim Sarı said the disciplinary action was necessary to protect the CHP’s institutional identity and address what he described as conduct that contributed to the party’s current crisis.
“We have decided to initiate a disciplinary process regarding individuals who contributed to a situation in which the CHP congresses were effectively rendered invalid and whose actions have damaged the party’s institutional identity,” Sarı told reporters after a meeting of the executive board.
Sarı rejected claims that the party leadership intended to avoid holding a congress, saying party officials would discuss possible timelines and procedures during a Party Assembly meeting.
“There is no escape from a congress,” he noted. “The CHP will hold its congress at the earliest reasonable time.”
The disciplinary measures were immediately condemned by lawmakers targeted in the decision.
Başarır, one of the party’s most visible parliamentary figures, dismissed the move as illegitimate and accused Kılıçdaroğlu’s leadership of unlawfully occupying party positions.
“The people have already passed judgment on them,” Başarır said in Parliament. “As long as the public does not expel us from their hearts and minds, these decisions mean nothing to us.”
He argued that only the Party Assembly has the authority to expel members of Parliament and accused the executive board of exceeding its powers.
Another CHP lawmaker, Mustafa Sezgin Tanrıkulu, described the disciplinary decision as “a disgrace” and said a party that advocates democracy and the rule of law could not credibly do so while violating its own internal rules.
The dispute also produced conflicting interpretations of party bylaws and the legal consequences of the appeals court ruling.
CHP Deputy Chair Berhan Şimşek rejected claims that the resignations had rendered the Party Assembly incapable of functioning.
“As long as the legal process continues at the Court of Cassation, we cannot hold neighborhood elections, district elections or a congress,” Şimşek told reporters at party headquarters.
“Even if only five members remain in the Party Assembly, life goes on,” he added.
The legal and political battle stems from a court decision that invalidated subsequent CHP congresses and restored the legitimacy of party organs elected at the party’s July 2020 congress. The ruling effectively created competing claims to authority within the party and triggered disputes over leadership, parliamentary representation and organizational control.
At the same time, lawmakers aligned with Özel have argued that Kılıçdaroğlu’s camp is using disciplinary mechanisms to silence political opponents and consolidate control.
The escalating confrontation raises new questions about the future of Türkiye’s largest opposition party, which faces one of the most serious internal crises in its modern history.
U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday described President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan as a “great leader” and a close friend, underscoring the strong relationship between the two leaders while dismissing concerns about potential tensions between Türkiye and Israel.
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump was asked about the possibility of a confrontation between Türkiye and Israel amid growing regional tensions. The question came as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made a series of anti-Erdoğan remarks on social media, followed by Erdoğan’s warning against Israeli expansionism and violations.
The U.S. president said he had not heard of any such scenario and suggested he would personally intervene if necessary.
“He’s a very good friend of mine, and we’ve worked very well together,” Trump said of Erdoğan. “I like him. He’s a great leader and a very strong person.”
Trump expressed confidence that relations between Türkiye and Israel would not escalate into direct conflict, pointing to the mutual respect he said exists between himself and Erdoğan.
“If I heard something like that, I would call him and make sure everything was fine,” Trump said. “I don’t think something like that will happen with Türkiye. He respects me, and I respect him. Beyond that, we have a good friendship.”
The remarks highlighted the longstanding rapport between the two leaders, who have maintained regular communication on a range of regional issues despite periodic disagreements between Washington and Ankara.
Türkiye is a fierce critic of Israel and one of the few countries in its region to openly defy the Netanyahu administration’s genocidal campaign of expansionism that spread from the Palestinian territories to Lebanon and beyond.
For Ankara, Israel is the biggest obstacle to peace in the wider region. The country has exerted efforts for a diplomatic solution to the Palestine-Israel conflict and cut off all ties with Israel since the genocide in Gaza began three years ago. Erdoğan is at the forefront of the criticism and has repeatedly urged the international community to stop Israel before it embarks on another campaign of terror in Lebanon.
Former Minister of Food, Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Mehmet Mehdi Eker has been nominated by Ankara to be the next chair of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
He is the first candidate for the organization’s top seat from Türkiye and hopes to win to leave a mark on Türkiye’s efforts to boost its international recognition and efficiency.
Eker has been campaigning since the 181st session of the FAO Council began in Rome on June 8 and held talks with representatives of about 40 countries, explaining his goals if he wins the election in 2027.
He told Anadolu Agency (AA) on Wednesday that with his nomination for the director-general position of the FAO, one of the leading organizations of the United Nations, Türkiye has embarked on a new path in transferring its experiences both in foreign policy and in agriculture and food security.
Pointing out that his candidacy is a new journey for Türkiye, Eker said: “Türkiye has set out on a path. Under the leadership of our president, Türkiye has carried its visibility and effectiveness to a better point in the international arena and international organizations. Alongside Türkiye’s foreign policy moves made so far, this is also an important step.” Stating that the FAO is very important and is a technical assistance and consultancy organization among U.N. agencies, Eker reiterated that 193 countries are members of the FAO.
Noting that the FAO prepares the world food code and establishes the international plant protection code, Eker said: “It has the world’s largest statistical data network related to agriculture, food, livestock and fisheries. The FAO also collects, analyzes, turns into reports and presents those statistics to all member countries. This is a major source of data for trade, protection from diseases, and increasing production.”
Expressing that alongside these core activities, the FAO also has a fundamental function such as fighting global hunger, the veteran official said: “This is especially very important. Food security is essentially a global security issue. If your neighbor is hungry, you are not safe.”
Drawing attention to the fact that the world population is 8.3 billion and enough food to suffice 11 billion people is produced today, Eker said: “More food is being produced. However, 730 million people are hungry. With the recent crises, another 40 million-45 million are expected to be added to this. This means it will reach 800 million; 1.4 billion people suffer from obesity, and 2.3 billion people suffer from malnutrition and unbalanced nutrition. In other words, there is something on their plate, but what they eat does not contain the micronutrient elements necessary for their needs for a healthy body, mind and life. Now, this is the situation in the world. It is very unbalanced. Furthermore, one-third of the total food produced is either lost or wasted.”
Türkiye’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) Deputy Chairperson Kürşad Zorlu said Tuesday that the Turkish people remain closely connected to their compatriots in North Macedonia, emphasizing Ankara’s commitment to strengthening bilateral ties and supporting Turkish communities in the Balkans.
Speaking during a visit to the village of Dolno Količani near Skopje, Zorlu conveyed greetings from President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and highlighted the deep historical and cultural bonds between Türkiye and North Macedonia.
“Under the leadership of our president, the hearts of 86 million citizens are always here with you. Never forget that,” Zorlu told members of the local Turkish community.
The senior AK Party official expressed confidence that relations between Türkiye and North Macedonia would continue to deepen in the coming years through expanded cooperation and stronger people-to-people ties.
Earlier in the day, Zorlu began his visit with a meeting at the Turkish Embassy in Skopje, where he was received by Ambassador Fatih Ulusoy. He also held talks with rectors of universities in North Macedonia and met with Zülfikar Zeynula, leader of the Turkish Democratic Party (TDP).
Zorlu said Türkiye closely follows developments in North Macedonia and shares the excitement of its people whenever news emerges from the country.
“If you feel excited when you hear a Turkish word or watch a television channel from Türkiye, believe me, we feel the same when we hear news from Macedonia, from the descendants of the Ottoman legacy in the Balkans,” he said.
Accompanying Zorlu during the visit were Ahmet Kılıç, head of the Türkiye-North Macedonia Parliamentary Friendship Group and AK Party lawmaker from Bursa, along with AK Party Central Decision and Executive Board members Ahmet Bilal Kıymaz and Mehmet Ali Kurt, and Deputy Head of Relations with Turkic States Temel Akyürek.
Justice Minister Akın Gürlek on Tuesday reaffirmed Türkiye’s commitment to combating violence against women, saying that legal measures alone are not sufficient and that effective coordination among institutions and greater public awareness are essential to addressing the issue.
Speaking at the 19th Meeting of the Coordination Board for Combating Violence Against Women in Ankara, Gürlek said the government maintains a zero-tolerance policy toward violence against women and continues to strengthen legal and institutional mechanisms to protect victims.
“We can never accept even a single woman being subjected to violence,” Gürlek said during the meeting, which was also attended by Interior Minister Mustafa Çiftçi, Family and Social Services Minister Mahinur Özdemir Göktaş and Religious Affairs President Safi Arpaguş.
The justice minister highlighted a series of reforms introduced in recent years, including constitutional amendments guaranteeing women’s rights and legal changes that increased penalties for crimes committed against women.
Gürlek noted that intentional injury against women is now considered grounds for detention, while persistent stalking has been established as a separate criminal offense. He also said provisions allowing sentence reductions for so-called “good conduct” in crimes against women had been removed.
To improve access to justice, victims of offenses such as stalking, intentional injury and torture can request free legal representation through local bar associations, Gürlek said. He added that courts designated to implement protective measures under Law No. 6284 on the Protection of the Family and Prevention of Violence Against Women have been established in courthouses across the country.
According to Gürlek, specialized prosecution offices handling domestic violence and violence against women cases now operate in 303 courthouses across all 81 provinces.
He also highlighted the expansion of judicial interview rooms designed to prevent victims from being retraumatized during legal proceedings. Türkiye currently has 176 such rooms in 167 courthouses, where more than 173,000 statements have been recorded since their establishment.
Gürlek said judicial support and victim services directorates have provided psychosocial assistance to more than 2.5 million people to date.
“Success in combating violence against women can only be achieved through strong institutional cooperation, effective implementation, swift intervention and public awareness,” Gürlek said, pledging continued coordination among government agencies to strengthen protections for women and improve access to justice.
The first edition of National Security Conferences, organized by the National Security Council chaired by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, was held in Ankara on Tuesday.
Addressing the event at the Presidential Complex, Erdoğan outlined the progress Türkiye made in security and other fields despite multiple challenges and how they envisioned the future for the country as an influential power.
The conferences are organized upon the instructions of Erdoğan, and the Office of the Secretary-General of the National Security Council said they aim to deepen knowledge on national security matters and enhance viewpoints on those matters for harmony on the knowledge for administrators or relevant institutions.
In his speech, Erdoğan hailed the transformation of the National Security Council, which was once tasked with other issues such as “inspection of work of cinema and music.”
“This is one of the silent revolutions in the state administration now oriented on national will and civilian politics,” Erdoğan said.
“This is valuable both for Turkish democracy and national security,” Erdoğan said.
The council was once dominated by military brass, which employed it to deliver ultimatums to the governments in the dark times of military tutelage in the country, preceding the governments of Erdoğan’s Justice and Development Party (AK Party).
Erdoğan stated that Türkiye has acquired power and is set to gain more thanks to the advantages of the executive presidency system inaugurated in 2018. The system streamlined Türkiye’s governance and sped up decision-making mechanisms, especially in matters of urgency like national security.
He noted Türkiye’s location beset with challenges and how its ancestors established states spanning from Europe to Central Asia.
“We have faced countless challenges (throughout history), but we always rose from the ashes like a phoenix after every fall. Today, we have nothing to rely on to maintain our state’s security other than our own power,” he said, adding that this was the understanding that led to the creation of the Republic of Türkiye and guided more than 40 years of counterterrorism efforts against the terrorist group PKK.
“We paid a heavy price, but we gained much more. Especially through our strategy to eradicate the terrorism in its source we adapted after the betrayal called July 15, we made great achievements both in the country and abroad,” he said, referring to the 2016 coup attempt by military infiltrators of Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ),” he said.
Erdoğan underlined that Turkish cross-border operations in Iraq and Syria “shattered the glass ceiling” (of acting upon instructions of other countries or relying on them for weaponry) and “launched a new era in our security paradigm.”
“Türkiye is no longer a country delivered a role in scenarios of others. It is now a country writing its own stories, a playmaker in its region,” Erdoğan emphasized. “They don’t let us live in these lands if they catch us off guard. We have no option but to stay strong (to survive),” he added.
He referred to the terror-free Türkiye initiative to end the PKK’s campaign of terrorism and said it was part of the strategic vision of the state in the new century and was beyond a mere security policy. “When the process is fully accomplished, it will strengthen our home front and open new doors for our nation,” Erdoğan stated.
“In our age’s understanding of security, attacks on energy lines as well as cyberthreats that render the banking system inoperable directly fall within the scope of national security. On battlefields, software plays as decisive a role as tanks and missiles. We attach great importance to data security. When used correctly, artificial intelligence accelerates the decision-making process. Artificial intelligence also harbors serious risks. Handling artificial intelligence as a security issue with ethical, legal and social dimensions is a necessity rather than a choice,” Erdoğan also said.
Türkiye has been one of the countries that best reads battlefields, first notices the changing security paradigm and prepares itself for this early on. We have strived to continuously improve ourselves. By strengthening our defense industry, we have minimized our foreign dependency. We see the value of our capacity very clearly when we look at the crises surrounding us. We will build the big and powerful Türkiye, which finds its meaning in the phrase “The Century of Türkiye,” step by step. Our source of inspiration is our nation,” he added.
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