Israel financially backed Kurdish rebels: Turkiye official says

Israel has been investing in the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and counting on it to serve its interests in the region, spokesman for Turkiye’s ruling Justice and Development Party, Omer Celik, said on Tuesday.

Remarking on the overthrow of the Syrian regime by opposition factions, Celik said: “From now on, Hay’at Tahrir Al-Sham – Jabhat Al-Nusra – is no longer a terrorist organisation de facto and will be removed from the list of terrorist organisations.”

“The European Union has actually opened a dialogue with [group’s leader] Al-Jolani, Britain wants that as does France, China and the United States… This is the clear picture now… When the officials meet, this means the actual removal of the organisation from the terrorist list, and removing the name from the list is a formal procedure that will happen soon,” he told Haberturk TV.

“We want an inclusive government in Syria where everyone is represented and expresses the Syrian people’s will. We say that Syria must be a unified state and its territorial integrity and national sovereignty must be preserved,” he added.

He refuted claims that the situation in Syria benefits Israel, saying this is “politically and morally incorrect”.

READ: Turkiye will continue supporting Syrians, Erdogan says