(MENAFN) On Friday, Türkiye strongly denounced Israel’s recent nighttime air raids on southern Lebanon, calling the offensive “absolutely unacceptable” and reaffirming its alignment with the Lebanese population amid rising regional instability.

During the Dicle University 2025–2026 Academic Year Opening Ceremony, Turkish parliament speaker Numan Kurtulmus expressed harsh criticism, declaring: “Israel’s aggression last night is absolutely unacceptable and cannot be approved. Once again, we condemn Israel in the strongest terms.”

He emphasized Türkiye’s support for Lebanon by stating, “With this attack, I wish to reiterate that we stand with the people of Lebanon.”

Kurtulmus emphasized that these actions resemble past military campaigns targeting various countries, including Lebanon, Syria, Iran, Tunisia, and Qatar. He accused the perpetrators—referred to as "the Zionist regime"—of dehumanizing the populations of the Middle East, asserting that “They (the Zionist regime) see all the peoples of the Middle East as slaves, as non-human beings.”

The Turkish official further argued that “Zionism” serves as the modern face of imperialism, accusing it of destabilizing the region for over a century.

He referenced the Sykes-Picot agreement as an early example of the “divide and rule” strategy, saying: “The visible face of today’s imperialism is Zionism. For more than a century, they have brought the Middle East to this point with the first Sykes-Picot 'divide and rule' strategies.”

Kurtulmus contrasted these alleged objectives with Türkiye’s regional vision, declaring: “Their goal is to divide more, fragment further, and shrink more. Our goal, however, is to integrate more, unite more, and grow further. Because we know that although they drew borders in the first Sykes-Picot to divide the people of the region, they could not divide their hearts.”

He concluded by noting that the region is locked in an ongoing cycle of geopolitical conflict that demands stronger leadership from local powers.

He also cautioned that recent developments indicate some actors have little to no genuine commitment to peaceful resolutions.

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