Turkey withdrew from the Davos Economic Forum

"Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has asked the finance minister and other officials to skip the World Economic Forum in Davos this week because of its organizers' stance on Israel's war against Hamas," Bloomberg reported.
Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek had planned to attend the annual meeting of political and business leaders, but Erdogan, who has criticized Israel's conduct during the Gaza war, prevented him from attending.
Erdogan's decision to withdraw his top officials from the summit complicates Turkey's efforts to rebuild ties with global investors after years of unconventional politics alienated them.
The absence from Davos follows another change in Simsek's plans in recent days. The minister, appointed in June as part of Erdogan's government reshuffle, was supposed to attend a central bank-organized meeting with investors in New York last week, but instead joined it virtually.
Erdogan's and Simsek's offices declined to comment. The World Economic Forum did not immediately respond to a request for comment
Klaus Schwab, founder and executive chairman of the Davos forum, condemned Hamas' "terrorist attacks on Israel" after the group killed around 1,200 people in a surprise attack in October. While he also called for measures to protect Gaza's civilian population, the statement angered Turkish politicians.
Turkey, unlike the United States and the European Union, does not consider Hamas a terrorist organization.
This is not the first time Erdogan has used Davos to take a political stand on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In 2009, the Turkish leader walked out of a debate with then-Israeli President Shimon Peres over the previous year's military operation in Gaza and vowed not to return.
Erdogan never reappeared, although Turkish officials began attending again after a few years.
The Turkish president criticized Israel for the death toll in Gaza and defended Hamas as a group fighting for Palestinian rights, but refused to sever ties with the Jewish state. Turkey is one of the few countries in the region that recognizes Israel. /BGNES