Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan addresses members of parliament from his ruling AK Party (AKP) during a meeting at the Turkish parliament in Ankara, Turkey, October 25, 2023. Political analysts said his planned address in Istanbul aimed to reinforce his growing criticism of Israel's bombardment of the Gaza Strip and to overshadow Sunday's celebrations marking Turkey's secular roots. Turkey has condemned Israeli civilian deaths caused by Hamas's Oct. 7 rampage through southern Israel, but Erdogan this week called the militant group Palestinian "freedom fighters". ATATURK LEGACYThis week, Erdogan invited all Turks to attend the rally where he said "only our flag and the Palestine flag will wave". Erdogan, Turkey's longest-serving leader, and his Islamist-rooted AK Party have eroded support for the Western-facing ideals of Ataturk, who is revered by most Turks.

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Persons: Tayyip Erdogan, Murat Cetinmuhurdar, Erdogan, Israel, Sinan Ulgen, Ulgen, ATATURK, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, Turkey's, Ataturk, Asli Aydintasbas, Gumrukcu, Jonathan Spicer, Helen Popper Our Organizations: AK Party, Turkish, REUTERS, Hamas, Gaza, Hamas's, Jerusalem, NATO, European Union, Centre for Economic, Foreign Policy Studies, Brookings, Thomson Locations: Ankara, Turkey, Handout, Israel Turkey, ISTANBUL, Israel, Istanbul, Italy, Turkish, Palestine, Washington