By Athena Papakosta

The Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, in an unprecedented attack against Israel went so far as to describe it in front of members of his party, AKP, as a “terrorist state” that commits war crimes and violates International Law in Gaza.

Its fire was aimed primarily at Tel Aviv but also at its allies in the West. After all, tomorrow, Friday, the Turkish president will be in the German capital, Berlin, where he will be welcomed by the German chancellor, Olaf Scholz.

In this parliamentary speech, described by many in the West as delusional, Recep Tayyip Erdogan promised to bring Israel’s political and military leaders to trial at the International Criminal Court while reiterating that Hamas is not a terrorist organization but a political party who won the election. He added that “the members of Hamas are resistance fighters who are trying to protect their lives, their future and their homeland”.

We remind you that the United Kingdom, the United States of America, the European Union and some of the Arab States consider Hamas a terrorist organization. Ankara, on the other hand, hosts some of its members.

Regarding the operation of the Israeli armed forces in the Gaza Strip, the president of Turkey was clear that these are “the most dangerous operations in the history of mankind” and in fact, as he pointed out, they are ongoing “with the unlimited support of the West”.

At the same time, addressing Netanyahu, he called on him to announce whether or not Israel has nuclear bombs, adding that “his death is coming.” In particular, he said: “Now from here, I am addressing Netanyahu! Do you have an atomic bomb or not? If you can… announce it. (…) Hey Israel! You have an atomic-nuclear bomb and you threaten with it! We know this.. but your death is coming! No matter how many atomic bombs you have, whatever you have… you leave.”

The Israeli prime minister’s response took a few hours but came with Benjamin Netanyahu stressing in high tones: “There are forces that support terrorism. One of them is Turkish President Erdogan. He calls Israel a terrorist state but actually supports the terrorist state of Hamas. He himself bombed Turkish villages. We will not accept a sermon from him.”

It was preceded by the position of the Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs, Eli Cohen, who emphasized in his post on Twitter that “those who harbor arch-terrorists and encourage terrorist organizations will not preach morality in the state of Israel.”

He even emphasized that “the Turkish president is distorting reality and is once again on the wrong side of history, next to the praisers of the massacres in Iran, Lebanon, Syria and Yemen.”

Mr. Cohen emphasized that the “state of Israel is a state of law. It operates in accordance with international law and will continue the war against the terrorist organization Hamas,” which, he said, “is worse than ISIS.”

At the same time, the reactions in Germany ahead of tomorrow’s visit of the Turkish president to Berlin are intensifying.

As it became known yesterday, the president of the Central Council of Jews in the country, Joseph Schuster, said – among other things – that the Turkish president is not allowed to be a partner in German politics as he not only denies Israel’s right to exist but actively fights it. He even asked the German chancellor to use this visit to make it clear to Mr. Erdogan that the relativization of Hamas terrorism will not be accepted under any circumstances, also considering that a clear condemnation of his behavior would be in his own interest of the German chancellor.

At the same time, the Turkish president also aimed his arrows at the French president, Emmanuel Macron, whom he accused of a dishonest attitude, calling on him to set an example from Turkey, which, as he said, remains firm in what he says and what he does.

So far there has been no reaction from Paris with Erdogan himself choosing to speak by phone with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. In fact, in a written statement from the office of the Italian Prime Minister, it is stated that Giorgia Meloni “asked for a rapid de-escalation of the conflict, which should not be extended to the rest of the region” emphasizing “the crucial role played by Turkey in this context”.

Erdoğan’s new anti-Western rhetoric has been clear for a long time and it puts new variables into the equation of Turkish-Western relations. His arrival in Berlin tomorrow remains key both for Berlin in terms of e.g. immigration and for the Western camp in terms of the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.