Erdogan West Bank Attacks: ‘Occupier Terrorism’
The Erdogan West Bank attacks drew a sharp condemnation from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday, as he called the violence “occupier terrorism” and warned that the world is watching without acting.
The Erdogan West Bank attacks remarks came as he opened the TRT World Forum 2026 at the Istanbul Congress Center on Friday. Erdogan said the international system was failing to uphold peace and security.
“Occupier terrorism, which seeks to forcibly displace Palestinians from their ancestral homeland, is growing more and more brazen by the day under the indifferent gaze of the modern world,” he said.
Erdogan said international institutions tasked with ensuring peace and security were once again “watching from the sidelines” as atrocities unfolded in Gaza, as previously happened in Rwanda and Srebrenica. He added that they took no action other than watching human tragedies with concern or voicing concern over them.
Erdogan West Bank attacks: 3,000 violations in October
Erdogan said more than 3,000 attacks and violations targeting Palestinians in the West Bank were recorded in October alone. He also said the October 2025 Gaza Peace Agreement, which Turkiye also helped broker, is not being implemented.
“Those who turn into lions when it comes to Turkiye suddenly become paper tigers when the issue is the genocide network,” he said. “This is the most blatant form of double standards.”
The Turkish president underlined that the principle of “pacta sunt servanda”, under which agreements must be kept, is not being upheld in international relations. “Everyone must understand that no problem can be resolved this way,” he said.
Global system has ‘raised the white flag’
He said the world was going through a turbulent period in which power rivalries were intensifying, rules were being disregarded and the rules-based system was being seriously eroded. “We are all facing a structural crisis in which the old is dying and the new has not yet been born,” he said.
Erdogan said Turkiye was doing everything in its power to help resolve the wars and crises stretching from Palestine to Yemen, Sudan and Ukraine.
“Whatever the cost, we will continue to courageously voice what we believe to be right, openly share our proposals for solutions, and resolutely defend what is just and true,” he said.
Fresh attacks on olive harvesters
Israeli forces and settlers carried out a series of attacks across the occupied West Bank on Friday, including assaults on Palestinians harvesting olives, the burning of residential tents and farmland, and raids on several areas, according to the Wafa news agency.
Israeli soldiers forced dozens of foreign activists and several journalists to leave Abu Falah village, northeast of Ramallah, after they tried to support Palestinian residents seeking access to their land to harvest olives. In a separate incident, settlers and soldiers assaulted and detained 15 foreign activists who were helping Palestinians harvest olives near Jabal al-Risan.
Near Yatta, south of Hebron, settlers released livestock into Palestinian fields and among fruit trees in the Huwwara area. Palestinian Khalil Mahmoud al-Hamamdeh and his son Omar confronted the settlers before Israeli forces entered the area and detained Khalil, Wafa reported.
In the central West Bank, settlers set fire to land in the village of Burqa, east of Ramallah. In Duma, south of Nablus, they attacked the eastern part of the village and set fire to residential tents, causing material damage. No injuries were reported.
On October 22, the Palestinian Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission said it had documented 409 attacks on olive farmers, trees, land and agricultural equipment across the occupied West Bank between October 1 and 21. Of those, 317 were carried out by Israeli settlers and 92 by the Israeli army, according to the commission.
The attacks included preventing farmers from reaching their fields, forcing them to leave their land, stealing crops and damaging trees and agricultural equipment. Raids and attacks have intensified across the occupied West Bank since October 2023.
Why it matters for Pakistan
Erdogan’s warning lands as Pakistan continues to press the Palestinian cause in its own diplomacy. Pakistan has condemned attacks on holy sites and civilians in the region, and Islamabad recently condemned Houthi missile attacks targeting Makkah and Madinah, reaffirming its solidarity with Saudi Arabia.
Pakistan is also a party to the Makkah defence agreement with Turkiye and Saudi Arabia. Turkiye’s parliament ratified the Makkah defence pact this week, and the alliance’s secretary general has set up office in Riyadh.
The scale of the destruction in Gaza underlines why Erdogan’s remarks carry weight in Islamabad. The Palestinian Environment Quality Authority says 68 million tonnes of rubble now cover Gaza, with 82 percent of farmland destroyed, as reported in Feature Pakistan’s coverage of the environmental disaster.
What did Erdogan say about the West Bank?
Erdogan called settler and army violence against Palestinians “occupier terrorism” and said it was growing bolder by the day while the world looked on. He said more than 3,000 attacks and violations were recorded in the West Bank in October alone.
How many attacks on olive farmers were documented in October?
The Palestinian Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission documented 409 attacks on olive farmers, trees, land and agricultural equipment between October 1 and 21. It said 317 were carried out by settlers and 92 by the Israeli army.
What is the October 2025 Gaza Peace Agreement?
The October 2025 Gaza Peace Agreement is the ceasefire deal that Turkiye also helped broker. Erdogan said on Friday that the agreement is not being implemented.
What happened to olive harvesters on Friday?
Israeli soldiers forced foreign activists and journalists to leave Abu Falah village near Ramallah, while settlers and soldiers assaulted and detained 15 foreign activists near Jabal al-Risan. Settlers also set fire to land in Burqa and residential tents in Duma.
