Erdoğan referred to Hamas as "mujahideen," an Arabic term used to describe those who are engaged in jihad, or holy war against non-Muslims.
"Hamas is not a terrorist organisation but a liberation group," he said in Turkish, "a group of Mujahideen that is fighting to protect its soil and its citizens."
"We had good intentions, but [Israel] took advantage of our good intentions," Erdoğan continued, before announcing that he had canceled his planned trip to the Jewish nation.
He concluded by saying that Israel "can view Hamas as a terrorist organization, along with the West," adding, "The West owes you a lot, but Turkey owes you nothing."
As the Times of Israel reports, Erdoğan's remarks were slammed by Israeli Foreign Minister Lior Haiat, who stated in no uncertain terms that Israel "wholeheartedly rejects the Turkish president's harsh words about the terrorist organization Hamas."
Haiat went on to describe Hamas as a "despicable terrorist organization worse than ISIS," pointing out that, "even the Turkish president's attempt to defend the terrorist organization and his inciting words will not change the horrors that the whole world has seen and the unequivocal fact: Hamas = ISIS."
Hamas has been officially designated a terrorist organization in dozens of countries, including the United States and Canada, however a shocking number of people have come out in support of their actions, speaking of the group in terms not dissimilar to those used by Erdoğan.
In protests following Hamas' October 7 surprise attack on civilians in Israel, protests sprung up across the world. Even in the West, some suggested the group was simply performing "decolonization" by massacring Jews.
In the weeks since, the death toll in Israel has risen to well over 1,000, with hundreds more killed in Gaza.
