Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has recently Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the 鈥渃ontinued attacks on Palestinian civilians鈥� and of a 鈥渉umanitarian catastrophe in Gaza.鈥� By presenting himself as a human rights defender, Erdogan seeks to position Turkey as a moral voice in the region. Yet for many Kurds, such remarks ring hollow 鈥� an example of the Kurdish saying, 鈥渢he raven calls the other raven black,鈥� the Kurdish equivalent of 鈥渢he pot calling the kettle black.鈥�
Erdogan鈥檚 hypocrisy
Since 2016, the Turkish government 鈥� now a self-styled champion of Palestinians 鈥� has carried out repeated military in the Kurdish-administered region of northern Syria, known in Kurdish as Rojava. Operations such as (2018) and (2019), among others, drew allegations from of 鈥渟erious human rights violations,鈥� including arbitrary detention, torture and enforced disappearances.
Erdogan鈥檚 rhetoric on Gaza often resembles political opportunism more than moral conviction. In 2017, he that in Iraq 鈥渕ust give up on independence or go hungry.鈥� While just a year earlier, he had for Palestinian statehood at the United Nations. Now, in 2025, he Netanyahu of using famine as a 鈥渨eapon鈥� in Gaza 鈥� the very threat he once directed at Kurds pursuing the same right: self-determination.
The contradictions extend further. After Netanyahu鈥檚 recent strike on a hospital in Gaza, Erdogan Israel for 鈥渞elentlessly destroying humanity.鈥� Yet Amnesty International in 2019 the civilian costs of Turkey-backed operations in Syria, describing 鈥渁n utterly callous disregard for civilian lives,鈥� including unlawful strikes on residential areas. The Human Rights Watch also in 2022 that Turkish strikes on civilian infrastructure 鈥渆xacerbate the humanitarian crisis鈥� and 鈥渆ndanger basic rights.鈥�
These abuses are well-documented. The Rights Watch鈥檚 2024 findings detailed abductions, arbitrary arrests, sexual violence and torture committed by factions of the Turkey-backed Syrian National Army. The report also notes 鈥淗uman Rights Watch 鈥� found that Turkish Armed Forces and intelligence agencies were involved in carrying out and overseeing abuses.鈥�
In addition, a preliminary 2025 report by the European Association of Lawyers for Democracy and World Human Rights Turkey of 鈥渃ommitting war crimes and crimes against humanity in Rojava.鈥�
To condemn the Israeli government, Erdogan that 鈥渢hose who shed innocent blood will drown in it,鈥� yet his own government stands accused of shedding that same blood. In this regard, the deeper is why Kurdish and Palestinian struggles receive such unequal treatment. The answer lies less in humanitarian principles than in political calculations.
Erdogan鈥檚 political maneuvering
Regarding Erdogan鈥檚 recent political statements, some to long-standing hostility toward Israel, his ties to the Muslim Brotherhood and neo-Ottoman ambitions. This point recalls earlier warnings.
In 2015, the Institute for Strategic, Political, Security and Economic Consultancy in Berlin that Turkey 鈥渟upport[s] other countries鈥� designated terrorist groups [such as] Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas, ETIM/TIP, Al Nusra, and other Al Qaeda affiliates.鈥�
In 2025, Israel鈥檚 Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center Turkey as 鈥渁 center for planning, funding, and directing terrorist attacks,鈥� noting Erdogan鈥檚 ruling Justice and Development Party鈥檚 (AKP) ideological ties to Hamas.
In addition, the Counter Extremism Project that Turkey 鈥渕aintains open relations with internationally sanctioned extremist groups and harbors internationally sanctioned and wanted extremists affiliated with the Taliban, the Muslim Brotherhood, and Hamas.鈥�
At home, Erdogan faces mounting disillusionment. A 2025 Turkish Minutes poll that 67% of people in Turkey want the 鈥淓rdogan era to end.鈥� A 2024 Pew Research Center found that 55% of Turkish adults hold an 鈥渦nfavorable opinion鈥� of him.聽
A similar distrust is also mirrored in Israel, where The Times of Israel that 70% of Israelis 鈥渄o not trust鈥� Netanyahu鈥檚 government. In such a condition that civilians are paying the price, Erdogan鈥檚 moral posturing toward Israel appears less like a principled stand than a striking case of the pot calling the kettle black.
[ edited this piece.]
The views expressed in this article are the author鈥檚 own and do not necessarily reflect 51吃瓜鈥檚 editorial policy.
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