President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey announced that the country has ended diplomatic relations with Israel.
“The government of the Republic of Turkey, under the leadership of Tayyip Erdogan, will not continue or develop relations with Israel,” he said, according to Middle East Eye. “[Our ruling coalition] is resolute in its decision to cut ties with Israel, and we will maintain this stance in the future as well.”
“We recently submitted our formal letter regarding this initiative to the president of the United Nations Security Council and the secretary-general of the United Nations,” Erdogan added. “During our summit in Riyadh, a decision was made to invite all organisations and members of the Arab League to sign this letter.”
Severing its relationship with Israel serves as a marker of Turkey’s support for Palestine.
Turkey previously claimed that Israel’s move to ban the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) violated international law.
“It is the legal and moral obligation of the international community to take a strong stance against attempts to ban UNRWA, which was established by a U.N. General Assembly resolution,” the Turkish Foreign Ministry said.
Several UNRWA employees have been implicated in the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.
