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.



Israel's UN Mission Doesn’t Invite Secretary-General to Ceremony

UN Secretary General Antَnio Guterres looks on at a Security Council meeting on the situation in the Middle East at the United Nations headquarters on October 2, 2024 in New York. (AFP)
UN Secretary General Antَnio Guterres looks on at a Security Council meeting on the situation in the Middle East at the United Nations headquarters on October 2, 2024 in New York. (AFP)
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Israel's UN Mission Doesn’t Invite Secretary-General to Ceremony

UN Secretary General Antَnio Guterres looks on at a Security Council meeting on the situation in the Middle East at the United Nations headquarters on October 2, 2024 in New York. (AFP)
UN Secretary General Antَnio Guterres looks on at a Security Council meeting on the situation in the Middle East at the United Nations headquarters on October 2, 2024 in New York. (AFP)

Israel’s mission to the United Nations had an invitation-only guest list for its commemoration of Hamas’ attack in southern Israel a year ago and it didn’t include UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who was banned from the country last week. No UN official was on the invite list.

Israel’s UN Ambassador Danny Danon told reporters the situation with the secretary-general was “sensitive.”

He asserted at the ceremony that the UN has failed Israel “time and time again,” including failing to condemn Hamas.

Several hundred ambassadors, diplomats, Jewish leaders and students attended the ceremony.

Israel’s Foreign Minister Israel Katz, who declared Guterres “persona non grata” last week, vowed in a video message that Israel will respond “with strength and power” to Iran’s missile attack on Israel last week.

The Israeli ambassador said that “the days when we had to rely on foreign powers to protect us are over,” to applause.