Bloomberg Agency said that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan instructed Turkish officials to refrain from attending the World Economic Forum in Davos, which begins today, Monday, and will last 5 days. It quoted informed sources that Erdogan made this decision because of the organizers’ position on the war that Israel has been waging on the Gaza Strip for more than 100 days, which has caused the death of more than 23,000 Palestinians and the injury of more than 60,000 others.
The agency notes that the Turkish President has instructed Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek, who was planning to participate in the annual meeting of political and business leaders, to abstain, and linked President Erdogan’s position to the statements of Klaus Schwab, founder and CEO of the Davos Forum, in which he condemned what he called “terrorist attacks against “Israel”, which angered Turkish politicians.
The offices of Erdogan and Simsek declined to comment on the matter, while the World Economic Forum has not yet responded to Bloomberg’s requests for comment.
Erdogan was frank in his criticism of Israel’s actions in Gaza, and defended the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) as a group fighting for Palestinian rights and national liberation.
Many Turkish newspapers (including Sozcu and Al-Shaab) reported that the Turkish Finance Minister was prevented from participating in the Davos Forum, and did not add any comment from any government official.
The Tel Aviv Tribune Net correspondent tried to contact the Communications Department of the Turkish Ministry of Finance, but did not receive any answer.
Historical position
In 2009, the Turkish president withdrew from the forum following heated arguments with then-Israeli President Shimon Peres over the Israeli military operation in Gaza the previous year, accusing Israel of killing children and carrying out crimes, and vowed not to return.
Erdogan never returned from that time, although Turkish officials did attend again a few years later.
Tension has been rising in relations between Turkey and Israel recently, the latest episode of which was the arrest of an Israeli football player who plays for a Turkish team. Because of his celebration of the 100th day of the aggression on Gaza, which the Turkish authorities considered an incitement to hatred before they released him at a later time, with the possibility of deporting him, which sparked anger in Israel.
In a separate incident earlier this month, Turkey arrested dozens of individuals on charges of spying for the Israeli Mossad, after warning Ankara of any plots to target Hamas members on Turkish soil.
As tensions continue, Erdogan’s recent decision not to participate in the World Economic Forum in Davos highlights Turkey’s position on the Israeli aggression, and its disagreement with the approach taken by the forum in dealing with what is happening in Gaza.