Israel seeks to cast Turkiye as ‘new enemy’: Turkish FM

Hakan Fidan believes Trump would attend Nato summit due to “personal respect” for President Erdogan
Ankara
Israel “cannot live without an enemy” and its government is now trying to portray Turkiye as one, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Monday.
“After Iran, Israel cannot live without an enemy,” Fidan said in a televised interview with the state-run Anadolu news agency. “We see that not only Netanyahu’s administration but also some figures in the opposition — though not all — are seeking to declare Turkiye the new enemy,” he said.
“This is a new development in Israel… turning into a state strategy,” he added.
Tensions between Turkiye and Israel have steadily escalated since the Gaza war erupted following Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack in Israel.
The dispute entered a new phase over the weekend after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned his US counterpart Donald Trump of “possible provocations and sabotage” that could jeopardise an initial ceasefire arrangement in the US-Israeli war on Iran.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced the two-week ceasefire between Tehran and Washington on April 8, ending the six-week war that began on February 28.