Days before the local elections in Turkey, Ahmet Davutoglu, head of the "Future" party, criticized his former ally President Recep Tayyip Erdogan regarding his handling of the war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas. He accused him in tweets on his X account a few days ago of collusion with the United States and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
In televised statements, Davutoglu, who previously belonged to the "Justice and Development" party, accused Erdogan of engaging in "political vulgarity and hypocrisy," also criticizing the continued Turkish exports to Israel, particularly aviation fuel, which peaked in December, despite "ongoing genocide in Gaza during the days of Ramadan," as he literally stated.
Furthermore, he demanded the disclosure of the minutes from a meeting between the Turkish president and Netanyahu at the United Nations, accusing Erdogan of making promises to Netanyahu regarding not cutting trade with Israel. He remarked, "What the Turkish president is doing today is a historical betrayal of Gaza and the oppressed," pledging to exert more pressure on the ruling party to stop Turkish exports to Tel Aviv after the local elections taking place tomorrow, Sunday.
In this context, Turkish political analyst Aydin Cezar noted that "Davutoglu's recent criticisms are a message to the Arab world." Cezar told "Al Arabiya" that "Erdogan maintains his relations with Israel despite the conflict in Gaza, which is why Davutoglu criticized him," adding that "the timing of the statements also suggests internal goals that the head of the Future Party seeks to achieve." He also added that "Davutoglu wanted to influence Arab voters in the local elections taking place in the country tomorrow, hence his criticism of Erdogan and his relations with Israel."
Moreover, he clarified that the "issue of exports to Israel has entered the heart of the electoral battle," as the head of the Welfare Party, Fatih Erbakan, demanded two days ago that the Turkish president end trade with Tel Aviv and close the Korsek facility affiliated with NATO as a condition for supporting his party's candidate in Istanbul.
The Turkish analyst ruled out that Erdogan would make decisions regarding the export of Turkish products to Israel at the moment, noting that "Davutoglu wanted to corner Erdogan regarding his relations with Israel, and it seemed as if he was complaining to Arab voters, especially since he addressed them in their language on X in an attempt to influence them in the municipal elections tomorrow."
These statements come as Turkey is expected to witness local elections across the country tomorrow, Sunday, with the ruling party looking to regain the municipalities of the capital Ankara and Istanbul, which it lost in the 2019 elections, following Erdogan's victory in a third presidential round in the elections last May.
