‘Hitler of our time’: Global war threat

A strongman president has threatened Israel over the killing of Palestinian civilians in Gaza — sparking major escalation fears.

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has threatened Israel over the killing of Palestinian civilians in Gaza. Israel has responded in kind.

“We must be very strong so that Israel can’t do these ridiculous things to Palestine. Just like we entered Karabakh, just like we entered Libya, we might do similar to them,” Mr Erdoğan told a meeting of his ruling AK Party on the weekend.

“There is no reason why we cannot do this. We must be strong so that we can take these steps.”

Israel’s foreign minister, Israel Katz, issued his own threat in response a short time later.

“Erdoğan follows in the footsteps of Saddam Hussein and threatens to attack Israel,” Mr Katz posted to social media.

“Just let him remember what happened there and how it ended.”

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has threatened Israel over the killing of Palestinian civilians in Gaza. Picture: AFP

Israel’s opposition leader, Yair Lapid, was equally terse.

“President Erdoğan is ranting and raving again. He is a danger to the Middle East,” he posted.

“We won’t accept threats from a wannabe dictator.”

Mr Erdoğan has repeatedly expressed his frustration at the soaring Palestinian death toll in the 10-month clash between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. He has also accused his NATO allies of supporting what he calls Israeli ambitions to “spread war” throughout the Middle East.

Mr Erdoğan’s threats come as tensions flare with Iran-backed terrorist group Hezbollah after a missile killed a dozen children playing on a sports field in the Israeli occupied Golan Heights.

Israel seized the strategic high ground between itself and Syria in 1967. It annexed the territory in 1981, allowing Jewish settlers to move in.

Israel’s opposition leader, Yair Lapid, was equally terse. Picture: GIL COHEN-MAGEN / AFP

‘The Hitler of our time’

Earlier, Mr Erdoğan unleashed his fury on the United States Congress for welcoming Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Mr Netanyahu told Congress his invasion of Gaza had produced one of the “lowest ratios of combatants to non-combatant casualties in the history of urban warfare.”

“If there are Palestinians in Gaza who aren’t getting enough food, it’s not because Israel is blocking it; it’s because Hamas is stealing it,” Mr Netanyahu insisted in response to allegations of deliberately starving the population.

Palestinian health authorities say Israel’s ground and air campaign in Gaza has killed more than 39,000 people. Israel has previously claimed about one-quarter of the dead are militants and blamed Hamas for using civilians as human shields.

“The whole world saw how the genocidal murderer was applauded in the US Congress,” Mr Erdoğan told a crowd in Istanbul on Friday. “Those who give lessons of democracy and human rights to the world do not show an ounce of shame when they crown the Hitler of our time.”

Relations had improved significantly with Israel before the October 7 Hamas terror attack, which killed 1139 people (815 of whom were civilians) and seized 251 hostages.

But, since Israel’s move to occupy Gaza, Ankara has repeatedly hosted Hamas leaders and lauded its militants as liberation fighters.

“We are faced not only with an inability to stop the massacre but also with a complete eclipse of reason and conscience,” Mr Erdoğan stated. “We witness those who hosted the butcher with the blood of over 150,000 Gazans on his hands applaud his delusional speech 57 times.”

That death toll may have been a reference to a study published last month in the medical journal The Lancet.

“There is no taking responsibility for peace, no effort to increase the hope of humanity. We are witnessing a state of madness where the oppressor is recognised for his cruelty, and the rights of the oppressed are ignored,” Mr Erdoğan insisted.

Israel's Foreign Minister Israel Katz issued his own threat. Picture: Attila KISBENEDEK / AFP

Peace in the balance

Israel’s security cabinet has met to discuss a response to an alleged Hezbollah rocket attack that killed 12 children in the Golan settlement of Majdal Shams overnight.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Netanyahu cut short his visit to Washington DC to return to Israel.

It’s the worst incident since Hezbollah began small-scale rocket attacks in support of Hamas on October 8 last year.

Hezbollah blames an Israeli interceptor missile for the tragedy.

But the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) has issued data it claims shows the track of an Iranian-made Falaq-1 missile as it flew out of Lebanon and over Mount Hermon before plunging into the town.

Israel’s IDF releases details of the launch and trajectory of the rocket that killed 12 children in Majdal Shams in the Golan pic.twitter.com/of7quXPKDq

— Seth Frantzman (@sfrantzman) July 28, 2024

International analysts say this tragedy may be the trigger for a regional war.

“The Hezbollah attack crossed all red lines, and the response will be accordingly,” foreign minister Katz asserted shortly after the attack.

“For the deaths of little children, [Hezbollah chief Hassan] Nasrallah should pay with his head,” finance minister and hardliner Bezalel Smotrich tweeted,” asserting that it was “time for action” and that “Lebanon as a whole has to pay the price”.

Mr Netanyahu’s coalition government partner national security minister Itmar Ben Gvir, another hardliner, called for “war in the north now!”

“Since October 8th, I have said that we are in a state of war in the north and the enemy needs to be defeated, (but Mr Netanyahu’s government) avoided acknowledging that we are in a battle against Hezbollah for 10 months”.

Israel’s IDF releases details of the launch and trajectory of the rocket that killed 12 children in Majdal Shams in the Golan. Picture: X

Acting Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikatti, however, condemned “all acts of violence and aggression against all civilians”.

“Targeting civilians is a flagrant violation of international law,” he said while calling for an end to the attacks.

Israel’s Defence Ministry says plans to move against Hezbollah in Lebanon are in place.

“The Minister instructed the defence establishment to prepare for every possible development,” a statement issued by the office of Yoav Gallant reads.

“At the Northern Command, I was shown the plans for a possible response. Hezbollah, an Iranian proxy, was behind the attack, and they cannot hide it despite their ridiculous denials. They fired [at Israel], and they will bear a heavy price for their actions.”

Turkish intervention?

In May, Mr Erdoğan told a gathering of his party that it must not expect “that Israel will stop in Gaza.”

“Unless it’s stopped … this rogue and terrorist state will set its sights on Anatolia (mush of Turkey) sooner or later,” he said while emphasising he would “continue to stand by Hamas, which fights for the independence of its own land”.

On the weekend, Mr Erdoğan referred to his recent military support for the Azerbaijan invasion of disputed territory that had been claimed by Armenia, and of Libya’s Prime Minister Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah.

Last year, Mr Erdoğan said he had offered “all means” of support – including military – to back Azerbaijan’s seizure of the Armenian-populated Nagorno-Karabakh region. Turkey later denied any direct military intervention.

And in 2020, Turkey sent military personnel and equipment to Libya to strengthen the UN-backed Government of National Accord in Tripoli amid a bitter civil war.

But Ankara’s regional military interventions go much further than this.

It sent troops and tanks across its border with Syria in 2019 to establish a “Safe Zone” against what it calls the threat of Kurdish terrorism. It continues to occupy this 8835 square kilometre area, which includes some 1000 Syrian towns.

On Friday, Mr Erdoğan attacked the UN and global justice institutions for their failure to act in Gaza, Ukraine and other world trouble spots.

“The current global system, established to protect the interests of the winners of World War II, has begun to run its course,” he said.

“Just looking at the crises of the recent past is enough to show that the system has already raised the flag of bankruptcy.”