Erdogan: Turkey can enter Israel as it did in Libya and Karabakh

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said "Turkey can enter Israel," as it has done in the past in Libya and Nagorno-Karabakh, though he did not specify what kind of intervention he was proposing.

Erdogan, who has been a fierce critic of Israel's offensive in Gaza against Hamas, commented on the war in a speech in which he praised his country's defense industry.

"We have to be very strong so that Israel cannot do these absurd things with Palestine. Just like we entered Karabakh, just like we entered Libya, we can do the same thing with them," Erdogan said at a meeting of the ruling Justice and Development Party in his hometown of Rize, Voice of America reported.

"There is no reason why we cannot do this ... We must be strong to be able to take these steps," Erdogan added in the televised address.

In 2020, Turkey sent a military contingent to Libya in support of Libya's UN-recognized Government of National Accord.

Libyan Prime Minister Abdulhamid al-Dbeiba, who heads the government of national unity in Tripoli, is backed by Turkey.

Turkey denies having a direct role in Azerbaijan's military operations in Nagorno-Karabakh, but last year said it was using "all means," including military training and modernization, to support its close ally. | BGNES