Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan Tayyip Erdoğan joined yesterday from the parliamentary rostrum in the political chorus of announcers warning of the danger of Turkey also being targeted by Israel. His speech generated various comments, and many questioned whether there were real concerns behind the words of the president and his like-minded people, or whether their purpose was different, BTA writes.
"I tell you frankly that after Palestine and Lebanon, the Israeli government, which operates under the delusion of the Promised Land, will turn its gaze to the lands of our homeland with purely religious fanaticism,", Erdogan said. "Although some people stubbornly don't want to see it, (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu's government is building an impossible dream that includes Anatolia and is pursuing a utopia," Erdogan said, quoted by Hurriyet.
"I appeal to those who say that Turkey should be neutral, to those who say that Hamas is a terrorist organization; we are not facing a state, but a gang of murderers who feed on blood," he continued, again likening the Israeli prime minister to Hitler.
According to the famous Turkish analyst Murat Yetkin, Erdogan's statement about "religious fanaticism" of Israel refers to the "theopolitical strategy of Benjamin Netanyahu's government". In an analysis posted on his "Yetkin Report" website, the journalist recalled a publication on September 25 in the "Jerusalem Post" in which the question was raised as to whether Lebanon is part of the Promised Land of Israel. The article was removed from the publication's website after international reactions, Yetkin specified.
The narrative of "The Promised Land" and its borders have been picked up by other Turkish politicians in recent days. The Chairman of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, Numan Kurtulmus, also warned yesterday about the risk of "Israeli aggression also targeting Turkey through Syria", notes in "Yeni Shafak".
"It is clear that one of the ultimate goals of the "Promised Land" from the Nile to the Euphrates is Turkey," said the speaker of the Turkish parliament.
Days earlier, Yigit Bulut, an adviser to Turkish President Erdogan, also warned that Israel would attack Turkey, urging Turks to "open their eyes", Turkish news site T24 wrote.
According to Bulut, who, in addition to being President Erdogan's chief adviser, is also a member of the Council on Economic Policy to the Presidency, "Israel will soon attack the Al-Aqsa Mosque and other holy places".
"After that, as our president has repeatedly stated, the target will be the motherland, Turkey,", pointed out Bulut. "Please, let us open our eyes. 100 years ago, the West united and attacked the motherland of Turkey, with Greece as a subcontractor. 100 years later the same attack is coming! This time the subcontractor is Israel," added the advisor, and called on "those who sleep to wake up."
Turkish nationalist leader Devlet Bahceli, an ally of Erdogan, read Israel's actions as a "message to Turkey". In a speech to the parliamentary group of his Nationalist Action Party (PND), Bahceli said it was wrong to think that "the war will be limited to the Middle East".
"Hunting will expand its reach and almost reach the borders of our homeland. It is impossible to deny that Israel's sabotage is a message to Turkey," Bahçeli was quoted as saying by private CNN-Turk TV.
"Is it Turkey's turn?" - this question was asked in the headline by the pro-government "Sabah". In his analysis of the topic, author Melih Altnok notes that even those who see Israel's actions as a natural response to the October 7 attack by Hamas are having second thoughts after Israel's entry into southern Lebanon.
Asking the question "where in this plan (of Israel) is Turkey", Altnok claimed that Netanyahu's goal is to ensure regime change in the countries of the region through methods such as "assassination, sabotage, military coups" , in order to break the internal fronts of these countries.
"Israel is aware that its security depends on further chaos in this geographical area, including our borders, whether you call it the Promised Land or the buffer zone from the Nile to the Euphrates," writes the author of "Sabah" ;.
Journalist Fatih Altayla, however, offers a different take on statements from the wing of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) that "Israel's next target may be Turkey".
Altayl, quoted by the T24 website, believes that "without Turkey taking an aggressive position towards Israel, it is impossible for Israel to undertake such a thing". The journalist recalled that before the attack by Hamas, Prime Minister Netanyahu was a controversial figure in his own country and about to lose his prime ministership.
Today, however, "while the country is at war, and the capital is under fire from Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis and Iran, few people want a government crisis or the resignation of the prime minister,", commented Altaila. "Perhaps that is why it is convenient for the (Turkish) government to portray Turkey as threatened by Israel. Who knows!", he added.