2024-08-03 06:46:07
Ankara: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, while speaking in his hometown Rize on July 28, strongly targeted Israel. He said that we should remain very strong so that Israel cannot commit atrocities against Palestine. Whatever we did by entering Karabakh and Libya, we can do the same to them. The Turkish President did not clearly state what kind of intervention he was talking about, but it is clear that he was hinting at a proxy war against Israel. Erdogan’s statement also caught the attention of the world because Turkey has made strong interventions in Karabakh and Libya in recent years.
The Jerusalem Post report says that the Turkish President mentioned Armenia in his speech by naming Libya and Nagorno-Karabakh. The two conflicts in which the Turkish President has mentioned intervention can be understood as to what kind of fight he is talking about against Israel. Non-state bodies and proxy fighters played an important role in Turkey’s intervention in Libya and Karabakh. In such a situation, if Turkey does the same in Palestine, it can create problems for Israel.
Turkey recruited fighters with the help of a firm
The report said that the recruitment and deployment of proxy fighters in Libya and Karabakh was managed by Turkish private security firm SADAT under contract to the Turkish government. SADAT International Defense Consulting Company was established in 2012 as the only privately owned defense consulting firm in Turkey. The company was founded by Brigadier General (retired) Adnan Tanriverdi. Tanriverdi and Erdogan have known each other since 1994. In 2016, Tanriverdi was named as Erdogan’s top military adviser. After this, he brought sweeping changes in the army. He closed secular military academies and created the National Defense University. The institute recruited students from religious Imam Hatip schools.
In Libya, Sadat recruited from among Syrian rebel fighters allied with Turkey. Sadat worked closely with Palestinian Islamist, Fawzi Boukatif, in deploying Syrian fighters. According to a report by the US Army’s Africa Command submitted to the US Office of Inspector General in August 2020, around 5,000 Syrians fought in Libya. Similarly, Sadat recruited and deployed Syrian fighters in Nagorno-Karabakh in collaboration with the official Turkish armed forces.
Sadat’s interest in Israel
Sadat has a deep interest in Israel. Tanriverdi said at the Middle East Media Research Institute in 2019 that the Islamic world should prepare an army for Palestine. Israel should know that if it bombs Palestine, Tel Aviv will also be bombed. After the October 7 attacks, a think tank run by Sadat issued a statement in support of Hamas. The statement proposed the formation of an Islamic army to counter Israel.
From this entire perspective, it can be understood that President Erdogan has indicated that Turkey’s proxy war methods can also be applied in the Israeli-Palestinian context. Erdogan has been constantly making harsh statements against Israel, but this time it is being said that it would be wrong to dismiss him. It can be said that with the help of Turkish President Sadat, Hamas can be greatly helped in Palestine.