Erdoğan urges Muslim nations to sanction Israel
ISTANBUL
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has urged Muslim-majority countries to implement trade action against Israel amid its ongoing military actions in the Palestinian territories and Lebanon.
“The fire ignited by the Israeli government will burn not only this geography but also you. Unless we join hands and put it out, this fire will eventually reach you," Erdoğan said at an event in Istanbul on Oct. 5.
His remarks came ahead of the one-year anniversary of Israel’s intense attacks, which began following a Hamas assault on Oct. 7 last year.
"I call on the Islamic world to take economic and trade measures," he said. "Every day we do not take measures against Israel, this bloodbath will grow."
He highlighted the toll on civilians during the conflict.
"Nearly 50,000 innocent people were massacred in front of the eyes of the whole world. International law, the law of war, all the values were trampled underfoot," he said.
"There is no crime or barbarity left. But no matter what they did, they could not break the ground of resistance of the people of Gaza."
The president also reiterated Türkiye's support for Palestinians, pledging continued solidarity.
"We send our heartfelt greetings to the heroic sons of Palestine," he said.
"We are the voice of the Palestinian people on all international platforms. Wherever we stood on the first day, we stand firmly in the same place today."
Erdoğan criticized Western powers, accusing them of inaction.
"We were the country that showed the strongest reaction after Israel's attacks on Lebanon, [because] Israel's goal is clear," he said.
"The Western powers know their true intentions, but with Holocaust shyness, they remain silent against [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu and his murderous gang."
Erdoğan also highlighted what he saw as hypocrisy in their response to pro-Palestinian demonstrations.
"They cannot even tolerate the Palestinian flag. Those who say that protest is sacred when it comes to terrorist organizations defend the most noble form of fascism when it's Palestine," he said.
He also expressed concern over the regional expansion of the conflict, accusing the Israeli government of attempting to broaden the war’s reach.
"Hamas, Hezbollah, Syria, Yemen, Iran... They are just excuses. No matter how much some friends of Israel among us try to hide the truth, we know where this expansionist gang will end up if they are not stopped," Erdoğan said.
"We know that a new war of division is being waged through Israel... We act with the same strategic wisdom today as we have never weakened the security of our nation, in a manner befitting our greatness."
