Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said during a recent press conference that he would find it “upsetting” to refer to Hamas as a terrorist organization.
Erdogan made the comments during a joint appearance alongside Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who spoke first on the topic of the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas.
“Athens’ stance on the subject is clear: Israel has every right for self defense against a bloody, provocative occupation of its territory by terrorists,” Mitsotakis began. “An attack that innocents got killed, got kidnapped and tortured by a terrorist organization that doesn’t represent Palestinians.”
WATCH:
Greek prime minister Mitsotakis to Erdogan’s face:
“Israel has every right for self defence. Hamas is a terrorist organisation.” pic.twitter.com/DQRre6n6mG
— ציוני כחול לבן (@Admeliorax) May 13, 2024
Erdogan’s response was measured, but he made it clear that he did not agree with Mitsotakis’ assessment of Hamas.
“It is not a terrorist organization, but if you state it is a terror group here, that would be upsetting,” he said. “I never see Hamas as a terror organization. And as of now, step by step, I am following Hamas, and in my country right now, more than 1,000 members of Hamas are in our hospitals.”
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Erdogan went on to claim that it was unfair to call Hamas a terror group, blaming “the entire west” for assisting Israel and lamenting the number of dead among the “members of Hamas.”
WATCH:
Turkish President Erdogan says calling Hamas terrorists is “upsetting.”
“I never see Hamas as a terror organization.”
Erdogan has also said Turkey is treating Hamas members in their hospitals.
“In my country right now more than 1000 members of Hamas are in our hospitals.” pic.twitter.com/NX6QbAwhXr
— Oli London (@OliLondonTV) May 13, 2024
Erdogan is not the only one reluctant to refer to Hamas as a terrorist organization even after the brutal attacks of October 7th. The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) has steadfastly refused to call Hamas “terrorists” – referring to them instead as a “Palestinian group” — earning them an earful from former British Prime Minister David Cameron.
“When you see what Hamas are prepared to do, you just realize the terrible, dreadful, inhuman people, frankly, that we are dealing with,” Cameron began “And maybe it’s a moment, actually, for the BBC to ask itself again, should we describe these people as terrorists? They are terrorists.”
“If you kidnap grandmothers, you kidnap babies, you rape people, you shoot children in front of their parents. What more do they need to do for the BBC to say, look, these are terrorists? They really are.”