The Israeli goal of destroying Hamas or evacuating Palestinian terrorists from Gaza is unrealistic, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan cautioned on Saturday, as violence in the Middle East resumed after a brief cease-fire.
“The Western countries that support Israel, especially the United States and the United Kingdom, always bring up the question of ‘What are we going to do about the threat of Hamas?’ instead of looking at the two-state [solution],” Erdogan told reporters on his way back from a climate conference in Dubai.
“Our response is that if we centre the analysis on the two-state [solution], the issues of Gaza and mutual threats will essentially disappear.” That is how we must handle it.”
“The exclusion and destruction of Hamas is not a realistic scenario,” the Turkish leader added.
Erdogan has strongly condemned Israel’s bombardment of Gaza and blamed the Jewish state’s “uncompromising approach” for the demise of a weeklong truce with the Palestinian militants, which expired on Friday. He has also repeatedly refused to label Hamas a “terrorist group” and has instead called Israel “a terror state.”
Meanwhile, Israel has accused Ankara of supporting the extremists. “We will liberate Gaza from Hamas for the sake of Israel’s security and to build a better future for the people of the region,” Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said on X (previously Twitter) on Saturday. “You [Turkish presidency] are welcome to host in your country Hamas terrorists who aren’t eliminated and flee from Gaza.”
On Tuesday, Israeli army Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi underlined that the IDF was prepared to “dismantle” Hamas. “It will take time, these are complex goals, but they are justified beyond measure,” he went on to say.
The newest round of Middle Eastern unrest occurred on October 7 following a significant attack by the Palestinian militant group Hamas, which left several people dead.
