Israel has decided to bring its diplomatic staff back from Turkey. This happened after Turkey’s President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, strongly criticized Israel’s military actions against Hamas in Gaza.
This decision is a setback for both countries’ efforts to improve their political and economic relations, which were strained for about a decade. Just last year, they had agreed to have ambassadors in each other’s countries again and were discussing a project for a natural gas pipeline with support from the United States.
But now, Erdogan has been increasingly critical of Israel’s actions in Gaza, and this has strained their relations. He held a large rally in Istanbul where he accused Israel of being an occupier and criticized its actions in Gaza.
After Erdogan’s speech, Israel ordered its diplomatic staff to come back from Turkey for a reevaluation of their relations. Erdogan has been a strong supporter of Palestinian rights for many years and has become more vocal about it as the situation in Gaza has worsened.
He said that Western powers are using Israel to assert their authority in the Middle East and accused them of creating a war between Christians and Muslims. He called for dialogue and a just peace.
This comes after days of pro-Palestinian protests in Istanbul and other cities organized by conservative and right-wing groups. However, a poll showed that most people in Turkey prefer the country to stay neutral or mediate in the conflict, rather than taking sides.
