Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz engaged in a public confrontation over the Gaza conflict during a joint press conference in Ankara today.
While Merz reaffirmed Germany’s strong support for Israel, Erdogan accused the country of committing “genocide”.
Erdogan highlighted that Israel launched major airstrikes in Gaza this week, despite a ceasefire that came into effect on October 10. Israel, he noted, announced yesterday that it had “renewed” the implementation of the ceasefire.
“They are not only attacking Gaza but have always sought to subjugate Gaza through starvation and genocide, and this continues to this day,” Erdogan said.
The Turkish president made his comments in response to Chancellor Merz, who told a Turkish journalist that Israel has become a haven for millions of Jews, including many Holocaust survivors.
“This is why Germany will always stand by the State of Israel,” Merz stated.
Merz further emphasized that Israel was exercising its right to self-defense following the Hamas-led attack on October 7, 2023, arguing that the devastating conflict could have been avoided if Hamas had released hostages and surrendered its weapons earlier.
“Then this war would have ended immediately,” he added.
Erdogan countered, stating he disagreed with Merz, arguing that Hamas does not possess nuclear or heavy weapons, whereas Israel does, and had bombarded Gaza despite the ceasefire agreement reached two weeks ago.
