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According to Deutsche Presse-Agentur on the 30th, after accusing Turkish President Erdogan of issuing "threats" against Israel, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz called for Turkey to be expelled from the US-led military alliance North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

Israeli Foreign Minister Katz Photo source: Visual China

According to reports, Katz claimed on the evening of July 29 local time that "it was Erdogan who made Turkey a member of Iran's 'axis of evil'" and claimed that Turkey was sheltering the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) on its territory. He called on all NATO member states to agree to "expel Turkey immediately." Israel itself is not a member of NATO.

According to Katz, Turkey's "unprovoked threat to invade a democratic Western country" is a serious violation of NATO principles. The United States and the Western world must "condemn Erdogan and stop his destructive activities."

According to reports from foreign media such as the Jerusalem Post and Reuters, Erdogan said on the 28th that Turkey "may enter Israel" as it did in Libya and Nagorno-Karabakh in the past, but did not specify whether he was proposing some kind of military intervention. He said: "We must be very strong so that Israel cannot do these ridiculous things to Palestine. Just like we entered the Nagorno-Karabakh region, just like we entered Libya, we may do similar things to them."

Turkish President Erdogan Source: Visual China

The report said that Erdogan's remarks seemed to refer to actions taken by Turkey in the past. In 2020, Turkey sent military personnel to Libya to support the UN-recognized Libyan National Unity Government. As for the Nagorno-Karabakh region, Turkey has denied its direct involvement in Azerbaijan's military operations in the region, but said last year that Turkey is using "all means", including military training and modern technology, to provide support to Azerbaijan.

Katz then responded by saying that Erdogan's final outcome might be like that of Saddam Hussein, the former Iraqi president who was executed in 2006. He posted on the social platform X, "Erdogan is following in the footsteps of Saddam Hussein, who threatened to attack Israel. He should remember what happened there and how it ended," and attached a photo of Erdogan and Saddam.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry issued a written statement in response to Katz's post, condemning Katz for posting "slanderous and insulting posts" against Erdogan on his social media account. The statement said, "Just as the Nazis who committed genocide will be held accountable, those who seek to destroy the Palestinians will also be held accountable. You will not be able to destroy the Palestinians."

The statement also said humanity will stand with the Palestinians, adding, "Just as there were consequences for Hitler, the perpetrator of genocide, so too will there be consequences for (Israeli Prime Minister) Netanyahu, the perpetrator of genocide."

In response to Katz's call for Turkey to be expelled from NATO, Deutsche Presse-Agentur sought NATO's comment on the 30th but received no response. Deutsche Presse-Agentur mentioned that NATO has no provisions that state that it can impose sanctions on its member states or even expel them based on certain reasons.