Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke out in support of Hamas Saturday, decrying claims that the group is a terror organization and insisting that his government stands behind it.
“No one can make us qualify Hamas as a terrorist organization,” Erdogan, 70, insisted during a speech in Istanbul. “Turkey is a country that speaks openly with Hamas leaders and firmly backs them.”
Erdogan also slammed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war, which started when Hamas launched a deadly terror attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7.
“Netanyahu and his administration, with their crimes against humanity in Gaza, are writing their names next to Hitler, Mussolini and Stalin, like today’s Nazis,” he scoffed.
Erdogan’s comments were all the more concerning due to Turkey’s status as a NATO member.
NATO allies have largely condemned the Hamas attack and supported Israel, though that support has waned as the death toll in Gaza has mounted.
With Post wires