Erdogan: Israel orchestrated Morsi overthrow

Turkish premier, who has a history of incendiary remarks considered by some anti-Semitic, is quoted in Today's Zaman as saying that he has "evidence" Israel is behind the Egypt crisis.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan Photo: Reuters

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused Israel of orchestrating the Egyptian military’s overthrow of deposed Islamist president Mohamed Morsi.

“Israel is behind the coup in Egypt, we have evidence,” Erdogan was quoted as saying in the Turkish daily Today’s Zaman on Tuesday.

The Turkish premier cited a conversation he had with a “French Jewish intellectual” who predicted that the Muslim Brotherhood would not be permitted to rule even if it won an election “because democracy is not the ballot box.”

Erdogan, who during his term in office has emerged as a fierce critic of Israel, has generated controversy in the past with remarks considered by some to be anti-Semitic. The premier accused an “interest rate lobby” of masterminding protests by crowds in Istanbul. He has also likened Zionism to fascism, and he has routinely accused Israel of waging a campaign of “genocide” against Palestinians.

Erdogan is not the only leader in the last week to accuse Israel of using its power to influence events in Egypt. Last weekend, Venezuela’s president accused Israel and the United States of conspiring to oust Morsi and of stirring unrest in Syria, the AFP news agency reported.

In response to the Egypt crisis, Caracas recalled its ambassador from Cairo to protest the military-backed government’s crackdown on Morsi’s Islamist supporters and the Muslim Brotherhood.

“We have witnessed a blood bath in Egypt,” President Nicolas Maduro was quoted as saying. “We warned that the coup against Morsi was unconstitutional. Morsi was kidnapped and the responsible party for what is occurring in Egypt is the [American] empire, which has its hands in it."

"The United States doesn't have friends, it has interests, and what it wants is to control the planet,” Maduro added.

Jerusalem Post