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.