Erdogan Accuses Israel of Trying to Erase Palestine from the World Agenda

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has accused the Israeli government led by Benjamin Netanyahu of seeking to “erase Palestine” from the world agenda.

“The goal of the Netanyahu government is to erase Palestine from the shared agenda of humanity by taking advantage of the chaos and new conflicts in this region,” Erdogan said at a joint press conference with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who was visiting Turkey, as reported by AFP on Thursday (13/8/2026).

“Whatever they do, they will not succeed. The Palestinian struggle will continue to grow in the hearts of the people while they try to destroy it,” Erdogan said, vowing that Turkey would continue to fight for the establishment of a Palestinian state.

As a strong supporter of the Palestinian cause, Erdogan has repeatedly condemned the Netanyahu government. He has accused the Israeli prime minister of committing “genocide” in Gaza and of pursuing expansionist policies in the West Bank, Lebanon, Syria, and beyond.

Abbas arrived in Ankara, Turkey, on Tuesday (11/8), accompanied by his diplomatic adviser Majdi Khalidi, intelligence chief Majed Faraj, and senior Palestinian official Ziad Abu Amr.

He met Erdogan on Wednesday (12/8), and the two discussed developments in the region, in talks the Palestinian leader described as “important and useful.”

Last month, Abbas, 90, said Palestinian legislative elections would take place on 28 November, followed by presidential elections early next year.

If the November elections go ahead, they would be the first in two decades.

“I hope the decision to hold legislative and presidential elections in Palestine after so long will bring good fortune… (and) will advance the reconciliation process,” Erdogan said, in a nod to the historic rivalry between Abbas’s Fatah movement and Hamas in Gaza.