Turkey has become an increasing menace and bully in the region. On the heels of Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declaring the absurdity that “Jerusalem has been our city for thousands of years,” Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz has stated accurately that Turkey and Iran are “denying promotion of peace and supporting regional aggression.” Both countries are energetic promoters of jihad and Islamic expansionism. One envisions the recreation of a mullah-ruled Persian Empire, while the other aims for a revived Ottoman Empire.
Erdogan, meanwhile, has frequently claimed that Israel is trying to “Judaize” Jerusalem, ignoring the abundant evidence of thousands of years of Jewish life in Jerusalem.
Back in December, it was revealed that Turkey was allowing senior Hamas operatives to plot jihad attacks against Israel from Istanbul. Last month, Turkey granted citizenship to dozens of the “most senior” Hamas jihadist operatives and their families.
Erdogan has also called for “an ‘army of of Islam’” to attack Israel on all sides.
“Israeli minister says Turkey opposed to regional peace,” Reuters, October 4, 2020:
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israel’s defence minister accused Turkey on Sunday of destabilising the region and working against peacemaking efforts, and called for international pressure to bring about a change in the NATO power’s conduct.
Israel generally shies from public censure of Turkey, with which it maintains trade and diplomatic relations despite the pro-Palestinian stance of Ankara’s government for more than a decade.
Briefing Gulf Arab reporters as a follow-up to Israel’s founding of ties with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, Defence Minister Benny Gantz described Turkey and Iran as “denying promotion of peace and supporting regional aggression”…
Citing Turkey’s actions in northern Syria and the Eastern Mediterranean, as well as its Libya intervention and contacts with Palestinian Hamas militants, Gantz said: “All of this pushes away from stability”.
“Definitely the question of Turkey is a very complicated one, because Turkey is part of NATO,” Gantz told the Zoom conference, which was organised by The Arab Council for Regional Integration, a group that encourages Israeli-Arab outreach.
“So we must take all the options that we have in our hands and try to influence it through international pressure to make sure that they are pulling their hands from direct terrorism.”…
“We just want to make sure that we find the right balance between maintaining our security and enabling Palestinian sovereignty,” Gantz said.