Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s speech in the parliament on Wednesday drew cheers from the audience chanting “Death to Israel” where he said that the Israeli Occupation repeatedly attempted to topple the Turkish government in past decades.

During his speech, Erdogan said that “While everyone else remained silent, we defined Hamas as a resistance movement, not a terror group. I declared and showed maps in the UN showing Israel has occupied Palestinian lands. We have always stood by our Palestinian brothers in every way.”

His statements came before the visit of Hamas’ Politburo Chief, Ismail Haniyeh, who is expected to come to Turkey this weekend to meet with Erdogan.

The Turkish president linked the Israeli Occupation’s multiple attempts to topple the Turkish government, which were carried out by “Zionist operators” according to him, to the goal of “lowering Turkey’s sensitivity to the Palestinian struggle.”

“I declare we won’t bow our heads or surrender to your attacks, such as military coups, economic sanctions, assassination attempts, and psychological warfare. I declare I will continue to amplify the Palestinian people’s voice,” he added.

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