Ankara strongly protested the killing of HAMAS political chief Haniyeh in Tehran, though her ability to respond to the presumed Israeli aggression is very limited. Yet, if fears of a broader war in the region were to materialize the resulting boom in oil and gas prices could significantly hurt Turkish economy.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry on Wednesday condemned the “heinous” assassination of Hamas political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh.
“We extend our condolences to the Palestinian people who have sacrificed hundreds of thousands of martyrs like Haniyeh in order to live in peace in their homeland under the roof of their own state,” the statement said.
Haniyeh’s assassination once again demonstrates that the Israeli government led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has no intention of achieving peace, the statement said.
The ministry also warned that the region will face much larger conflicts if the international community does not take action to stop Israel.
“Türkiye will continue to support the just cause of the Palestinian people,” the statement added.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on July 31 shared a message of condolence on social media following the assassination of Hamas leader İsmail Haniyeh, as well as his calling his bereaved family.
Erdoğan reiterated Turkey’s stance regarding the conflict. “We will continue to work for the establishment of a free, sovereign, and independent Palestinian State with East Jerusalem as its capital, based on the 1967 borders.”
Justice and Development Party (AKP) spokesperson Ömer Çelik also commented on the developments in a live broadcast from the party headquarters.
Çelik criticized Israel and its allies for inciting further conflict in the region. “Western society preferred to send warships instead of taking the initiative for peace. The Zionist network will continue the massacre. Netanyahu is trying to spread the war across the entire region.”
“Israel has pulled the first trigger indicating it wants a regional war today. It is threatening the security of the countries in the region,” he continued.
Çelik also bashed the United States Defense Secretary Austin for declaring its support for Israel in case of a retaliatory attack.
“The U.S. said, “We are ready to protect Israel if it is attacked.” The threat in the region is Israel. If you applaud someone seeking support to commit genocide, they will move on to other actions,” he said.
Despite the outcry from Ankara, Erdogan has this far refrained from repeating a veiled threat to declare war on Israel, which he had made a few days ago, which crated shockwaves not only in the global press and Israel, but also in Turkish financial markets.
There is no practical way for Turkish and Israeli armies to clash because of the geographic distances involved, but Islamists terrorists could attack Jewish targets in Turkey. Turkey could also ban Israel tourists from entering the country, which had numbered as high as 665K only in 2022 (2023 data not yet available).
Most importantly, if the war were to spread to the entire region to the extent of propelling oil and natural gas prices higher, Turkey’s fragile foreign account could be dealt a blow, the severity of which would depend on the duration and magnitude of the hydrocarbon rally.
On the other hand, Erdogan is believed not to want to push the conflict with Israel further, because it might impair Turkey’s image in the West at a time when the country needs financial and direct investment from foreigners to finance its current account deficits.
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