Former Minister Gideon Saar, who has announced in recent weeks that he intends to return to political life, related this morning to the series of statements within the past day by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan slamming the state of Israel and its policies.
“We made a mistake when we paid compensation and apologized for the Marmara incident,” he said in an interview with Radio 103FM.
In other interviews, Saar asserted a return to close relations with Turkey could not be expected as long as Erdogan,“an ally of Hamas and Al-Nusra Front,” remained the leader of Turkey.
His statements come as Erdogan last night met with Palestinian-Arab official Rami Hamdallah in Istanbul, where he called to “prevent the Judaization of Jerusalem” and called on as many Muslims as possible to visit the Temple Mount in order to emphasize the bond between Islam and the site.
“It is impossible to find a solution and peace in the region without finding a fair solution for the Palestinian cause first,” he had said, adding that “it is an obligation to establish a Palestinian state in the ‘67 borders - and as much pressure as possible needs to be exerted on Israel so that this will happen.”