Turkish Lawmakers Discuss Mideast in Closed Session after Erdogan's Israel Claim

A Turkish flag flutters atop the Turkish embassy as an Israeli flag is seen nearby, in Tel Aviv, Israel June 26, 2016. REUTERS/Baz Ratner/File Photo
A Turkish flag flutters atop the Turkish embassy as an Israeli flag is seen nearby, in Tel Aviv, Israel June 26, 2016. REUTERS/Baz Ratner/File Photo
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Turkish Lawmakers Discuss Mideast in Closed Session after Erdogan's Israel Claim

A Turkish flag flutters atop the Turkish embassy as an Israeli flag is seen nearby, in Tel Aviv, Israel June 26, 2016. REUTERS/Baz Ratner/File Photo
A Turkish flag flutters atop the Turkish embassy as an Israeli flag is seen nearby, in Tel Aviv, Israel June 26, 2016. REUTERS/Baz Ratner/File Photo

Türkiye's lawmakers held a closed-door session on Tuesday to discuss the spread of war in the Middle East, a week after President Tayyip Erdogan made an unsubstantiated claim that Israel eventually aimed to encroach on Turkish territory.

Israel has not publicly responded to Erdogan's claim, which analysts and opposition lawmakers say is far-fetched and is intended primarily to deflect public attention away from Türkiye's economic woes.

Israel has also not commented publicly on Tuesday's closed-door parliamentary session in Ankara, which is titled "Israel's occupation of Lebanon and developments in the region".

Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmus has said the foreign and defense ministers will make presentations at the closed-door session - which was requested by the opposition - on the risk of the conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon widening further, Reuters reported.

NATO member Türkiye is among the world's sharpest critics of what it calls Israel's illegal and reckless wars with Hamas and Hezbollah. It halted trade with Israel and applied to join a genocide case against it at the World Court.

Last week Erdogan told parliament that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was acting out his dream of a "utopia" and "promised land" for Israel.

"After Lebanon, the next place on which Israel will set its eyes will be our homeland," he told parliament's opening session, attended by dozens of foreign ambassadors and his cabinet.



NKorea's Kim Again Threatens to Use Nuclear Weapons against SKorea, US

This picture taken on October 7, 2024 and released from North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) via KNS on October 8, 2024 shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un delivering a speech at Kim Jong Un University of National Defense for its 60th founding anniversary in Pyongyang. (Photo by KCNA VIA KNS / AFP)
This picture taken on October 7, 2024 and released from North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) via KNS on October 8, 2024 shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un delivering a speech at Kim Jong Un University of National Defense for its 60th founding anniversary in Pyongyang. (Photo by KCNA VIA KNS / AFP)
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NKorea's Kim Again Threatens to Use Nuclear Weapons against SKorea, US

This picture taken on October 7, 2024 and released from North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) via KNS on October 8, 2024 shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un delivering a speech at Kim Jong Un University of National Defense for its 60th founding anniversary in Pyongyang. (Photo by KCNA VIA KNS / AFP)
This picture taken on October 7, 2024 and released from North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) via KNS on October 8, 2024 shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un delivering a speech at Kim Jong Un University of National Defense for its 60th founding anniversary in Pyongyang. (Photo by KCNA VIA KNS / AFP)

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un warned again that he could use nuclear weapons in potential conflicts with South Korea and the United States, as he accused them of provoking North Korea and raising animosities on the Korean Peninsula, state media reported Tuesday.
Kim has issued similar threats to use nuclear weapons preemptively numerous times, but his latest warning came as outside experts say North Korea could ramp up hostilities ahead of next month’s US presidential election.
In a Monday speech at a university named after him, the Kim Jong Un University of National Defense, he said that North Korea "will without hesitation use all its attack capabilities against its enemies” if they attempt to use armed forces” against North Korea, according to the North’s official Korean Central News Agency.
“The use of nuclear weapons is not ruled out in this case,” The Associated Press quoted him as saying.
Kim said North Korea’s nuclear response posture must be fully enhanced because South Korea and the United States are pushing to beef up their military alliance based on joint nuclear and strategic planning, a move that he said would increase the danger of breaking the balance of power on the Korean Peninsula.
North Korea earlier said its rubber-stamp parliament was to meet on Oct. 7. But as of Tuesday, state media hasn't said whether the parliament meeting began as scheduled.
Observers say the parliament meeting was likely meant to constitutionally declare a hostile “two-state” system on the Korean Peninsula to formally reject reconciliation with South Korea and codify new national borders. In January, Kim ordered the rewriting of the constitution to remove the long-running state goal of a peaceful Korean unification and cement South Korea as an “invariable principal enemy.”
All exchange and cooperation programs between the two Koreas remain dormant since a broader US-North Korea diplomacy on the North's nuclear program collapsed in 2019.
Since late May, North Korea has floated thousands of trash-carrying balloons toward South Korea, reviving a Cold War-style psychological campaign. On Tuesday, South Korea's military said.