Praying in Gaza!..

It seems that Erdoğan and the AKP still have a "Gaza/Palestine cause" that serves as their sole "red line." We say "seems" because they are very skilled at rhetoric and condemnation—that is, throwing "sound bombs"—against Israel; but when it comes to action, they do not, or cannot, move a muscle, not even for their closest friends, let alone the "ummah."

Israel, meanwhile, is running wild. Babies and children are no longer being killed by bombs, but by starvation... Trump, with whom the AKP works in perfect harmony, is looking to turn Gaza into a casino and hotel zone... Netanyahu is now openly declaring his plan to fully occupy Gaza, speaking of a "Greater Israel."

The current situation is as follows:

Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has claimed that "The oppressors will be wiped from history, and Netanyahu will see this too," issued a call that "We must rouse the world. Not just states, but NGOs must also take action," and announced that they have decided to convene the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in his capacity as the Term President.

That Council convened, but what happened? 31 countries, including Turkey, condemned Israel... It was demanded that those responsible for the crimes committed against the Palestinian people be held accountable... It was requested that the international community, especially the permanent members of the UN Security Council, exert pressure on Israel.

In the same days, Erdoğan, who penned an article for Al Jazeera titled "Humanity's conscience is being tested in Gaza," emphasized that "Turkey has displayed a persistent, consistent, and determined stance to end the oppression in Gaza from the very beginning," and after describing "the work carried out in the field by AFAD, the Red Crescent, and NGOs," "the treatment of wounded Gazans in Turkey," "our ceasefire calls before the UN and OIC," and "the warning he gave at the NATO meeting on June 25 that 'Gaza has no time to lose'," he noted the following:

"War crimes and human rights violations must be investigated before the International Criminal Court and the International Court of Justice; the perpetrators must be held accountable before the law. History is recording who took action and who turned their backs on the oppression in Gaza. Gaza has no time to lose. The future of humanity will be shaped by the courage of the steps taken today."

Abdülkadir Selvi also praised Erdoğan and Hakan Fidan with the words, "two statesmen who raise their voices against the Gaza massacre," and said, "They are not just raising their voices; they are mobilizing international institutions. They are holding contacts with heads of state and foreign ministers, trying to create awareness. This alone is enough for them to be targeted."

Former AKP deputy and Yeni Şafak columnist Aydın Ünal, comparing Erdoğan to a "veteran" (gazi), asked, "Which of us has put our body in front of Israel and the West as much as Erdoğan? Which of us has been as brave as him? Which of us has given up on our family, or even our own life, to wage such a struggle without stopping, without pausing?"

LOOK AT ORBAN, WHO PRAYS FOR ERDOĞAN

No, we will not remind you of the claims that our trade with Israel still continues, or that the Kürecik Base, which is Israel's eyes and ears, is not being closed, or that a decision has not been taken to no longer recognize Israel as a state as of this point; we will remind you of other things that, for some reason, are never questioned.

As is known, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban is a very close friend of Erdoğan. So much so that he announced he prayed a lot for Erdoğan to win the 2023 elections. He did not hide the reason for this great affection either; he said, "Erdoğan is a guarantee both in terms of not sending refugees to Europe and not cutting off Russian natural gas in the direction of Europe!"

Abdülkadir Selvi also drew attention to another common point between Erdoğan and Orban; he emphasized that Orban is the only leader within the EU who invested in Trump, that when Orban won in Hungary and Erdoğan in Turkey, the global project collapsed, and that there is a political partnership of destiny between Erdoğan and Orban.

Erdoğan was in Hungary last May for the informal summit of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS). The fact that this close "friend" did not invite the TRNC to the summit due to EU pressure was not seen as a major problem. While Erdoğan settled for calling the absence of the TRNC a "deficiency in the family photo," he warned for Gaza that "14,000 babies could die if aid does not reach" and said that "Israel's expansionism must be resisted."

So, what had Orban done just 1.5 months before these words of Erdoğan?

When the International Criminal Court (ICC), of which Hungary is a founding member, issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu on charges of committing war crimes, Orban, who said, "It is absurd and arrogant. I guarantee that the decision will have no effect in Hungary," did what he said and invited Netanyahu, welcoming him with a red carpet and a military honor guard, and Netanyahu thanked Orban for not recognizing the ICC's decision!..

Not only the ICC, the Palestinian administration, or HAMAS, but even Germany reacted to this attitude of Orban; however, Erdoğan did not say a single word to Orban, neither then nor when he went to Hungary.

AND THIS IS ALIYEV, THE "BROTHER"

Let us leave aside Orban, who portrays himself as the "defender of Christianity," and move on to our Turkish and Muslim "brother," Azerbaijani President Aliyev.

Azerbaijan is Israel's second-largest oil supplier; it exports millions of tons of oil every year.

In October 2023, it also obtained the right to explore for natural gas off the coast of Israel for three years, but the signing of the agreement was delayed when the Israel-Hamas war began. Ultimately, last March, Azerbaijani Finance Minister Jabbarov went to Jerusalem to sign this agreement. Then, in May, Azerbaijani Defense Minister Hasanov was in Tel Aviv. Israeli Defense Minister Katz thanked Hasanov for "their support against Hamas and their mediation efforts with Turkey."

Also recently, Israeli rabbis wrote a letter to Trump for Azerbaijan, a "reliable ally of Israel," to join the Abraham Accords. Finally, the new regional governor whom Ankara holds in high esteem, US Ambassador Tom Barrack, revealed this intention. Some pro-government columnists pointed out that Israel wants to include Azerbaijan in these agreements "to tear it away from Turkey," but to what avail!..

And furthermore, this happened:

It was not Erdoğan, but Trump who sat our "brother" Azerbaijan and our neighbor Armenia at the peace table, and had them accept the leasing of the Zangezur Corridor, which will be driven like a wedge into the Caucasus, to the US for 100 years, and gave the corridor his own name. In return, while Aliyev and Pashinyan decided to nominate Trump, the chief patron of Israel, for the Nobel Prize, Aliyev said, "Who deserves the Nobel Prize more than Trump?" And Trump gifted Aliyev a symbolic key to the White House!..

Ankara, far from feeling the slightest discomfort from these developments, was officially overjoyed.

THE GAZA THAT CANNOT BE VISITED

Do you remember; when Erdoğan was Prime Minister in 2013, he announced many times that he would go to Gaza, but this visit could never take place due to the "suggestions" of the US.

Erdoğan, at the TÜGVA summer schools final program on August 1 last, also stated; that "the government standing tall against the terror state of Israel is their own government," that they did not give up on the Palestinian cause despite threats and operations, that "history is recording this upright stance," and that "Gazans will hopefully live freely in those lands forever," after which he said:

"When that blessed day comes, God willing, we will be there too... God willing, we will all pray a prayer of gratitude together, shoulder to shoulder. God willing, we will see that the oppression has ended in Gaza, just as it has in Syria."

Erdoğan had also said in 2012, "We will go to Damascus as soon as possible and embrace our brothers there with affection... We will pray in the Umayyad Mosque." 13 years later, Assad is gone, meaning "the oppression in Syria has ended," but for some reason, Erdoğan still has not gone to either Damascus or the Umayyad Mosque.

Returning to the examples of Orban and Aliyev; if Erdoğan—especially when the genocide has reached the stage of babies being starved to death—cannot even persuade these two friends of his to take a stance against Israel and Netanyahu, unfortunately, at this rate, only the funeral prayer for Gaza as a whole will be performed!..

Müyesser YILDIZ

August 18, 2025