Turkey’s foreign minister said Saturday that Israel was using security concerns as a pretext to seize more land, accusing the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of pursuing expansion across the region.
Speaking in English at the Antalya Diplomacy Forum in the southern resort city of Antalya, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Israel had created an international “illusion” by portraying its actions as self-defense.
“Israel is not after its own security. Israel is after more land,” Fidan said.
“Security is being used by the Netanyahu government as an excuse to occupy more land.”
Fidan said Israel’s actions, from the Palestinian territories — Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem — to Lebanon and Syria, showed a pattern of occupation and expansionism.
“I think this has to stop,” he said.
“Israel has to know that the only way to live peacefully in the region is to let other countries enjoy their own security, territorial integrity and freedom, and not to use power against them.”
Turkey and Israel have exchanged near-daily criticism in recent months over a range of regional issues, including Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, tensions linked to Iran and competing interests in Syria.
Relations between the two countries were badly strained in 2010 when Israeli commandos raided a flotilla trying to break Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza, killing nine Turkish activists and one Turkish American. The flotilla was co-organized by a Turkish aid group.
Fidan also said he met Friday with the foreign ministers of Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Egypt on the sidelines of the forum to discuss regional developments, including the Middle East conflict.
He said countries in the region needed to work together to address shared problems, again singling out Israel as the only state seeking territorial gains.
“It is time for all of us to come together in a very mature way and own our problems,” Fidan said.
Commenting on Turkey’s diplomatic efforts related to the Russia-Ukraine war, Fidan said the recent tensions involving Iran had pushed that conflict into the background.
“That has left the Russia-Ukraine war on the side,” he said.
He said attention should return to efforts to end the war in Ukraine once tensions involving Iran ease, warning that the situation still carries a risk of further escalation.
Turkey, which has hosted several rounds of talks between Russia and Ukraine, is also hosting Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha at separate sessions during the Antalya Diplomacy Forum.
© Agence France-Presse
