Muharrem Ince
Photo: MCT
As Turkish elections loom, Israel-bashing takes center stage
Seeking to dent incumbent president's support as he leads in polls ahead of June elections, main rival Muharrem Ince accused Erdoğan of 'signing secret deal with Israel' and of urging schools not to boycott Israeli goods.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s main political rival has attacked him for signing “secret deal with Israel,” in an apparent attempt to score points as the country prepares to go to the polls in the presidential elections later this month.
Muharrem Ince, who heads the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) has gained 30% of the country’s support according to a Bloomberg poll, leaving him trailing behind the incumbent president who is leading with 50.8% of the nation’s backing.
In an apparent bid to rally the country behind him by stinging Erdoğan on the populist issue of Israel, Ince scolded the president for his dealings with the Jewish state.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (Photo: Reuters)
“Did you sing a secret deal with Israel? Yes, you did,” Ince said during an electoral rally held in the port city of Ordu on the Black Sea coast of Turkey, while challenging the president to participate in a televised debate.
After Erdoğan accused his opponent of lacking political experience in foreign affairs, Ince accused him of “deceiving the public” in his dealings with Israel, according to a report in the Hurriyet. He further predicted that Erdoğan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) will continue to ink business deals with Jerusalem.
Muharrem Ince (Photo: MCT)
“Does the oil trade with Israel continue? Yes, it does. Do you continue to buy seeds from Israel? Yes, you do. Did you send an instruction to schools to not boycott Israeli goods? Yes, you did,” Ince said as he fired a volley of questions he hoped would dent Erdoğan’s support.
Accusing Erdoğan of “empty talk”, Ince also bemoaned the fact that Turkey still imposes a visa on Palestinian citizens while Israelis are exempted from having to get a visa for tourism in the country.
“I call on Erdoğan to discuss (the government’s)Israeli policies with me on TV. Why don’t you accept it? Are you a coward?” İnce said as he continued his wave of opprobrium.
(Photo: AP)
Erdoğan recently stated at a rally that gained global recognition for his “one minute” reaction against the late Israeli President Shimon Peres at a 2009 forum in Davos.
The CHP leader also chided the president for his policies in Syria, which he said accounted for the present of more than three million refugees currently living in Turkey.
“I will not spend $40 billion for Syrian refugees … The UN recently made a new statement, saying 2.5 million more Syrians could flow into Turkey,” he said, referring to the situation in Syria’s Idlib province.
(Photo: MCT)
In the run-up to the election, Erdoğan has also used Israel as a tool to rally support, intensifying his invective against it and even threatening to look into his country's economic relations with the country after the June 24 elections.
In May, he compared the actions of Israeli troops in Gaza to Nazi Germany's treatment of Jews in World War Two.
"The children of those being subject to all sorts of torture in concentration camps during World War Two are now attacking Palestinians with methods that would put Nazis to shame," Erdoğan said shortly after addressing a rally of thousands of people in support of Palestinians.
Reuters contributed to this report.
