We will protect the TRNC with a Presidential palace and Turkey with a New Constitution against Israel!

Erdoğan did not say this in a secret National Security Council meeting or a friendly chat, but at the opening of the new legislative year of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM), he told the whole world that the target of Israel, which "acts with the delusion of 'promised lands'," after Palestine and Lebanon, is Turkey, and stated: "For our homeland, for our nation, for our independence, we will continue to stand against this aggression, this state terrorism, with all the means at our disposal."

We have been discussing this for days. Some considered those words a "historic warning," while others mocked them as being "aimed at domestic politics"... Some, like CHP Chairman Özgür Özel, said that "Israel's power would not be enough for Turkey" and that "we will all together stand up to Netanyahu"!..

Yes, is Israel a major threat to Turkey? It is. So, since when has this threat been on the agenda?

We have written this many times before; let us remind Erdoğan and his colleagues once again. Their mentor, the late Necmettin Erbakan, taught them this 33 years ago, in 1991:

"The purpose of the current UN is not to establish justice and rights on earth, but the establishment and protection of Israel, and subsequently the establishment of Greater Israel... Soon it will take Lebanon, and following that, it will make Konya and Erzurum its provinces."

In those years, Erdoğan also used the expressions: "Turkey, by determining its stance on the Palestine issue with a principled foreign policy understanding, must prevent the 'Greater Israel' project... Turkey must review its Euphrates water policy. There can be no greater cruelty than watering and feeding this mentality, which is a cancer microbe in the Middle East... I do not recognize Israel as a state."

What we mean is that Erdoğan's discovery of Israel is not new. Given this, were they not the ones who went from normalization to normalization with Israel during their term in power?.. If the attack on October 7 last year had not happened, would they not have almost welcomed and embraced Netanyahu in Ankara?

We have more to write about Israel targeting Turkey, but for now, let us first ask this:

What happened that those who spoke of "entering Israel" just 3 months ago have started sounding the alarm that Israel will enter us?

Then, let us note this:

What those who govern the Republic of Turkey, founded by Atatürk, must do is not to say "We are a target," but to be a target-setter.

What is the US, which holds Israel's leash, up to in Cyprus?

Let us try to explain where one of Israel's targets before Turkey might be.

Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, during his visit to Egypt in early August, used the following expressions while complaining about Israeli expansionism:

"America's attempt to clean up after every evil Israel commits, to try to mitigate it, has ceased to be an acceptable pattern. Now, its owners must take the leash in their hands and take responsibility."

Even though all signs show the exact opposite, since Fidan thinks that Israel's leash is in the hands of the US, let us summarize what this so-called ally, which the government can never give up on no matter what it does, is up to in Cyprus, which serves as Turkey's back door.

In 2018, it signed a Statement of Intent on Defense Cooperation with the Greek Cypriot administration, which Turkey does not recognize... In 2021, it established a Security Dialogue Cooperation mechanism... In September 2022, it lifted the arms embargo it had imposed on the Greek Cypriot side since 1987 and started a joint program with the Greek Cypriot army, and last June, it signed a strategic dialogue agreement.

The deployment of the US and its collaborators to the Greek Cypriot side accelerated even more after the Palestine-Israel war. Warships came and went one after another. Even German special forces soldiers arrived in the region. It was stated that arms shipments to Israel were being made from bases on the Greek Cypriot side.

Finally, on September 10, the US signed a 5-year roadmap regarding bilateral defense cooperation with the Greek Cypriot side and promised unlimited military support. And the Greek Cypriots' partnership in the field of military cooperation and defense is not limited to the US. They have similar agreements with France, Greece, Jordan, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates, primarily with Israel and the UK.

Meanwhile, when Greece decided to turn a port on the Greek Cypriot side into a military base, the Greek Cypriot Defense Minister Vasilis Palmas openly stated that this base was related to Gaza. Likewise, it was reported that the US military's "Chinook" type helicopters would be deployed to a helicopter base currently under construction on the Greek Cypriot side.

By Condemning and Condemning, There is No Condemnation Left in Ankara

If we return to the agreement signed between the US and the Greek Cypriot side on September 10; the Pentagon stated, "The general stability and security of 'Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean' are of vital importance for the US and Cyprus. Our roadmap creates a framework to address the interoperability of military forces."

And Ankara's reaction?

First, our Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned it. Then, Ministry of National Defense sources condemned it "vehemently."

The Foreign Ministry, as if the US still had any neutrality left, stated that "these steps taken to the detriment of the security of the Turkish Cypriot side harm the US's neutral stance towards the Island of Cyprus and make it difficult to find a solution to the Cyprus issue," and added, "Motherland and Guarantor state Turkey will continue to ensure the security and welfare of the Turkish Cypriots under all circumstances." Ministry of National Defense sources also said with similar expressions that the US "should review its approach that ignores the TRNC and sees the Greek Cypriot side as the sole representative of the Island."

Of course, while Ankara was showing these reactions, it was quite significant that our 1st Army Commander was visiting his counterpart in Greece on the same dates!..

We condemned the US, we even condemned it vehemently, but what happened?

A few days later, the US announced that it would extend its decision to lift the arms embargo on the Greek Cypriot side for another year, effective October 1.

Thank you, our Ministry of Foreign Affairs reacted again, and after making the assessment that "the grave mistake in question will increase armament on the island and harm the delicate balances in the region," it commanded the following:

"We believe that the TRNC will take every measure to increase its defense and deterrence capability in the face of the increasing armament activities of the Greek Cypriot side."

While Ankara keeps "believing that the TRNC will take every measure," even before Israel attacked Lebanon, the UK was sending 700 additional troops to its bases on the Greek Cypriot side for the possible evacuation of its citizens in Lebanon.

What is the Mood in the Greek-Greek Cypriot Camp and What is the Mood in Ankara?

Let us briefly convey the mood in the Greek-Greek Cypriot camp.

Before the UN Summit, which Erdoğan also attended, Greek Cypriot leader Nikos Christodoulides went to Athens and met with Greek Prime Minister Mitsotakis. While Mitsotakis emphasized that coordination between Athens and the Greek Cypriot side was more necessary than ever due to the conflicts in the Middle East, Christodoulides said that the resolution of the Cyprus issue and the full normalization of Turkish-Greek relations would make a great contribution to stability in the region. Let us also note that before this meeting, which was in preparation for the Erdoğan-Mitsotakis meeting in the US, Christodoulides attended a program held in Athens on the occasion of the "50th anniversary of the Turkish occupation."

Let us go to the UN Summit in New York. While Erdoğan called for the recognition of the TRNC once again in his General Assembly speech, Mitsotakis not only rejected the two-state solution but also repeated the delusion of the "50th anniversary of Turkey's illegal occupation of the territory of the Republic of Cyprus," which the government and its media ignored.

But Ankara continued to sing "friendship" songs to Greece. TRNC President Ersin Tatar, on the other hand, openly warned that Israel's next target could be Cyprus.

Right here, let us draw attention to the statement made in June by Hezbollah leader Nasrallah, who was killed by Israel. Stating that Israel constantly conducts military exercises on the Greek Cypriot side and that they have received intelligence that Cyprus's airports and bases would be used in a possible attack on Lebanon, Nasrallah had said that in such a case, they would target Cyprus.

Responding to the Deployment in Cyprus with Theater

Let us look at what Ankara is doing, even though all this clearly shows that one of the targets of the Israel-US duo and their other partners before Turkey is Cyprus.

It will be remembered; when it was revealed in July that Greece would turn a port on the Greek Cypriot side into a military base, TRNC Minister of Public Works and Transportation Erhan Arıklı said, "It is time to establish a naval base in the TRNC by reaching an agreement with Turkey."

Erdoğan's response to this justified and correct demand was, in summary, as follows:

"We are currently building a Presidential palace and a North Cyprus Parliament building on the Island... When these two buildings are finished, a very beautiful mosque is being built next to them to serve there. I suppose there is nothing more important than these bases. They are building military bases, we are building political bases... Turkey takes the necessary steps when necessary, does what needs to be done. One must carefully avoid steps that will never contribute to the peace of the island, will increase tensions, and will lead to violations of international law. Being a partner to the massacre in Israel will benefit neither the Greeks nor the Greek Cypriots."

While the course of events in Cyprus has accelerated, the pro-government media also signed off on a joke-like news story last month:

We have responded with "art" to the attempt by Greece and the Greek Cypriot side to establish a naval base in the Turkish village of Tatlısu (Mari). What did we do? The General Directorate of State Theaters brought the theater play titled "Century-Old Epic" to the people of the TRNC!..

Our retaliations (!) of course, did not remain limited to this.

For example; as confirmed by Ministry of National Defense sources themselves yesterday, Greece requested a plan showing the FIR line as its own sovereign area in the Ramstein Flag-2024 Exercise, which started on September 30 and will last until October 11, with the participation of 13 NATO member countries. Turkey took the necessary initiative against this. But when the host, Greece, insisted on this stance despite the "positive approach" of NATO authorities, it was decided not to participate in the exercise.

Despite this, what happened? Ministry of National Defense Spokesperson Rear Admiral Zeki Aktürk not only announced that a delegation from the Greek Land Forces Command was planned to visit the Land Forces Command on October 10-11 within the scope of the "Confidence Building Measures 2024 Implementation Plan" between Turkey and Greece, but also said that "our country will continue to make significant contributions to the security of NATO and the Euro-Atlantic region today and in the future, as it has in the past."

Last week, calling it "like a joke," we wrote that "while Greek boats come to Bodrum and Datça as they please, our Oruç Reis ship will be sent to Somalia to conduct seismic research." Yesterday, the Ministry of National Defense Spokesperson confirmed this as well; furthermore, he gave the good news that three of our ships would provide escort and protection to Oruç Reis, and that the task group in question would set sail on October 5 by saluting Erdoğan in the Bosphorus!..

While CHP Deputy Chairman, retired Admiral Yankı Bağcıoğlu, cries out, "In such a crisis period that could affect our country and our region, sending our military ships and units to distant regions would be a major strategic mistake. The government should avoid such steps that will put our national security at risk," what does it matter?!

Let us end with this:

Before Erdoğan said in his parliamentary opening speech that Israel was also targeting Turkey, he asked for a "new constitution" again.

Naturally, it fell to us to use this unfortunately very ironic headline. It seems that we will protect the TRNC with a Presidential palace and Turkey with a new constitution!..