Fatih Erbakan reacts to Israeli ships in Turkey

Israeli merchant ships located in Mersin and Istanbul have sparked controversy. Despite numerous statements from the government, New Welfare Party (YRP) Chairman Fatih Erbakan has voiced his reaction to the presence of these ships in Turkish ports. Erbakan asked, "If we have no trade with Israel, what are ships belonging to Israeli companies doing in Istanbul and Mersin?"

Sharing a video on his social media account regarding the issue, Erbakan stated that he does not believe the government's claims that "we have cut off trade with Israel, and the trade is being conducted with Palestine."

Erbakan made the following remarks:

"What will the Palestinians do with this much cement, raw materials, chemical products, and electronic goods? Such a thing is not consistent with reason or logic. Furthermore, it is impossible for trade between the two countries to have increased a thousandfold or ten-thousandfold in the last year. Unfortunately, as the New Welfare Party, the fact that we have been suspicious for a long time has once again been proven right by developments. First of all, when we look at the data from the Turkish Exporters Assembly, what do we see? Our steel exports to Palestine have increased by 5,400 percent in one year, and our exports of cement and soil products have suddenly increased by 2,500 percent in one year. The increase in our electrical and electronic product exports is 21,000 percent in one year, our chemical substances and products exports have increased by 8,575 percent annually, and our mining product exports have increased by more than 1 million percent. Our trade in machinery and machine parts has increased by 31,000 percent in one year."

'WHAT ARE ISRAELI SHIPS DOING IN ISTANBUL AND MERSIN?'

In the face of these facts, officials constantly say, 'We are not sending anything to Israel; this trade is entirely conducted with Palestine.' We say, yes, officially on paper this trade appears to be with Palestine, but naturally, we ask the following questions at this point: 'What will a Palestine that has been struggling to even find bread to eat under embargo for years do with this much steel, this much cement, this much raw material, chemical products, mining products, and electrical and electronic goods? If there is no trade with Israel, what are ships and containers flying the Israeli flag and belonging to Israeli companies doing in Istanbul's Ambarlı and Haydarpaşa ports, and in the Mersin port? If we have no trade with Israel, why are these Israeli ships constantly caught red-handed in our ports, and why has it even been reflected in the press that there are stamps and signs on the containers indicating they are going to Israel's Haifa port? 'Sir, these ships are going to Palestine via Israel'—such an explanation is also not consistent with reason or logic. Because the Israeli press has also written many times that Israel blocks even aid materials going to Gaza, claiming they are helping Hamas. It is contrary to reason and logic that Israel, which blocks aid materials, would allow this much steel and cement material.'

'WHY ARE WE NOT CLOSING THESE VALVES?'

Why is Azerbaijani oil being delivered to Israel via Turkey, and why has this oil been going to Israel through our lands via the Baku-Ceyhan oil pipeline for months? We are allowing the fuel for the tanks and warplanes of the Israeli army, which has been killing babies, children, and women and committing massacres for months, to pass through our own lands. Why are we sending them this Azerbaijani oil through our own lands, and why have we still not closed these valves? This is also a very important issue. In light of all these facts, a famous saying of the late Erbakan Hoca comes to mind at this point. What was he saying? 'The truth is such a thing that you cannot replace it with anything; if you try to replace it, it will leak from 40 places.' The events we are experiencing are actually a reflection of this saying of our late Erbakan Hoca."