Islamist Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met with the senior leadership of Iraq in Baghdad on Monday seeking support against Israel’s self-defense operations against Hamas and approval for his years-long bombing campaign against Kurdish groups in Iraq.
Erdogan landed in Baghdad on Monday for his first visit to the country in 13 years. The visit followed Erdogan hosting the political leader of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, in Istanbul on Saturday. Erdogan has repeatedly insisted that Hamas, an Iran-backed terrorist group that explicitly calls for the genocidal destruction of Israel, is “not a terrorist organization,” including following the Hamas invasion of Israel on October 7.
On that day, Hamas terrorists invaded Israel from their stronghold in Gaza, engaging in a wide variety of atrocities include the massacre of entire families in their homes, gang-rape executions of women, and uploading videos of the desecration of corpses to the social media profiles of their victims. The youngest of the 1,200 killed were infants. An estimated 250 people were abducted into Gaza, of which over 130 hostages remain in captivity.
Erdogan reportedly emphasized in meetings with Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid and Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani on Monday the “unity” of the Islamic world against Israel’s self-defense operations intended to neutralize Hamas’s ability to attack from Gaza.
“Pointing out that efforts to stop Israeli oppression in Gaza continue, President Erdogan expressed that Muslim countries should act in unity during this process,” the Turkish government’s Communications Directorate relayed, according to the state-run Anadolu news agency, referring to opposition to Israel.
The message echoed Erdogan’s remarks during his meeting on Saturday with Haniyeh.
“It is vital that Palestinians act with unity in this process. The strongest response to Israel and the path to victory lie in unity and integrity,” Erdogan said after meeting with Haniyeh.
While Hamas terror operatives are based in Gaza, Haniyeh and the organization’s elite live in luxury in Doha, Qatar, where they maintain their “political” offices. Erdogan has also allowed Hamas to maintain an office in Turkey since 2011.
On Sunday, prior to his visit to Iraq, Erdogan reportedly proclaimed that Israel “will one day pay the price for the atrocities it imposes on the Palestinians and that Türkiye will continue to speak out about the massacres in Gaza on every occasion.” Hamas claimed that Israel Defense Forces (IDF) operations against its terrorists in Gaza are “massacres” against civilians, who Hamas regularly endangers by using civilian facilities in Gaza are terror bases.
Haniyeh reportedly said he was “proud” of Erdogan’s support after their meeting.
Erdogan had initially announced that he would welcome Haniyeh to the country on Wednesday at a meeting of his Islamist Justice and Development Party (AKP).
“When no one else would speak, we stood up and said: ‘Hamas is not a terrorist organization, but a resistance group,” Erdogan declared. “I will host the leader of the Palestinian cause at the weekend. We will discuss a number of issues.”
Erdogan has for years openly supported Hamas, but escalated his support after the October 7 atrocities. In late October, Erdogan organized a massive rally AKP supporters claimed attracted 1.5 million people to Istanbul’s Atatürk International Airport. Dubbed the “Great Palestine Rally,” the event was meant to convey support for Hamas and its massacre of Jews.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani meet after the official welcoming ceremony at Baghdad International Airport in Baghdad, Iraq on April 22, 2024. (Turkish Presidency/Murat Cetinmuhurdar/Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images)
“Hamas is not a terrorist organization,” Erdogan again declared during his speech at the rally.
Erdogan’s stop in Baghdad on Monday was reportedly intended, among other issues, to also address Turkey’s other major foreign policy issue, its war against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), a U.S.-designated Marxist terrorist organization, and U.S.-allied Kurdish militias that Erdogan claims are indistinguishable from the PKK. The American allies were pivotal in the destruction of the Islamic State “caliphate” in 2017, but Erdogan insists that they are terrorist groups to be eliminated – and routinely violates the sovereignty of Iraq to do so.
Most recently, Erdogan ordered airstrikes in Iraq in August, October, and January, and in March announced plans to create a “security corridor” to “new nightmares to those who think that they will bring Turkey to its knees with a ‘terroristan’ along its southern borders,” hinting at a new bombing initiative.
Erdogan reportedly told Iraqi leaders on Monday that Turkey has “expectations” that Baghdad would participate in “the fight against the terrorist organization PKK,” according to Anadolu.
“The meeting addressed bilateral relations between Türkiye and Iraq, Israel’s attacks on Gaza, regional and global issues, and the fight against terror,” the Turkish Communications Directorate explained, using the Turkish government’s preferred name for the country.
Prior to Erdogan’s visit, the Iraqi government said that it was expecting to discuss a variety of other issues with Erdogan, including “water resources, economics, security, the Development Road project, regional security developments, and the signing of a bilateral strategic framework agreement aimed at expanding economic and trade partnerships.”
“We have completed the preliminary agreements for the signing of more than 20 agreements during our president’s visit,” Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Sunday, before Erdogan’s arrival.
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