This strategy has included long-standing and overt support for the Hamas terrorist organization.

By Yaakov Lappin, JNS

Under the personal and ideologically-driven Islamist direction of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Turkey aspires to actively construct a strategic encirclement of Israel, an Israeli terrorism expert has warned, days after reports emerged stating that the Trump administration is weighing allowing Ankara to purchase F-35 fighter jets.

Turkey’s willingness to back U.S. President Donald Trump’s 20-point truce plan has reportedly increased its chances of acquiring the stealth aircraft, though this has yet to be confirmed.

Dr. Ely Karmon, a senior research scholar at the International Institute for Counter-Terrorism at Reichman University in Herzliya and a member of the Israeli non-partisan group Coalition for Regional Security, told JNS in recent days, “If Erdoğan’s plan to take over Syria in the military domain succeeds and he receives approval for a military force, legitimacy and Qatari money for construction in Gaza, Turkey will largely replace the Iranian dream of enclosing Israel in a more dangerous military and political ring.”

Karmon warned that “when it comes to Israel, Erdoğan is the one who sets Turkey’s policy and he is personally responsible for the deterioration of bilateral relations between the countries for years. Erdoğan has strong anti-Israel feelings, based on deep-rooted religious beliefs. Erdoğan simply despises Israel.”

Karmon explained that this animosity is channeled through a calculated political strategy.

“President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan attaches great importance to the Palestinian issue, presenting himself as the protector of the Palestinians and of the holy Islamic sites in Jerusalem,” he said.

“By exploiting the Palestinian issue, Erdoğan is trying to present Turkey to the Arab public as a leading power in the Middle East and to achieve Islamic legitimacy in the region.”

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