Israel's foreign minister calls for Turkey to be excluded from NATO
Following threats by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan against Israel, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz has called for Turkey's expulsion from NATO. "Erdogan has made Turkey a member of the Iranian axis of evil," Katz said. Turkey is hosting the Islamic terrorist organization Hamas. Katz urged all NATO member states to "expel Turkey immediately".
Erdogan had previously threatened Israel with military intervention. "Just like we intervened in Nagorno-Karabakh, just like we intervened in Libya, we will do the same with them," he said on Sunday at an event of his ruling AKP party in Rize on the Black Sea, referring to Israel.
Erdogan was referring to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, where Erdogan supported the conflict party Azerbaijan with drones among other things. In the civil war country Libya, Ankara supports the internationally recognized government with military equipment and personnel.
Israel's Foreign Minister said Turkey had seriously violated NATO principles by threatening to invade a democratic Western country without provocation. The USA and the Western world must "condemn Erdogan and stop his destructive activities".
Previously, Katz said Erdogan was "following in the footsteps of Saddam Hussein". He advised the Turkish president to "remember what happened there and how it ended". In 2003, US troops invaded Iraq. The military operation led to the overthrow of the then Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. Three years later, Hussein was executed for massacres against Kurds and Shiites.
The European Union, being a close ally of NATO, could potentially issue a strong statement condemning Turkey's actions and supporting Israel's stance. Additionally, given Turkey's hostile rhetoric and actions towards Israel, some EU members might consider reviewing their relations with Ankara.
