Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan asked the country’s finance minister and other officials to skip the World Economic Forum in Davos this week over its organizers’ stance on Israel’s war against Hamas, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek was planning to attend the annual gathering of political and business leaders until Erdoğan — who has criticized Israel’s conduct of its war in Gaza — stopped him from going, the people said, asking not to be identified because of the sensitivity of the matter.
Erdoğan’s decision to withdraw his top officials from the summit complicates Turkey’s efforts to reconnect with global investors after years of unconventional policies had driven them away.
The no-show in Davos follows another change of plans by Şimşek in recent days. The minister, appointed in June as part of a government shakeup by Erdoğan, was set to attend a central bank-organized meeting with investors in New York last week but instead joined it virtually.
Erdoğan and Şimşek’s offices both declined to comment. The World Economic Forum didn’t immediately respond to a request seeking comment on Monday.
Klaus Schwab, the Davos forum’s founder and executive chairman, condemned Hamas’ “terrorist attacks against Israel” after the group killed around 1,200 people in a surprise raid in October. While he also called for measures to protect the civilian population of Gaza, the statement angered Turkish politicians.
Turkey – unlike the US and the European Union – doesn’t consider Hamas a terrorist organization.
It’s not the first time Erdoğan has used Davos to take a political stand on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
In 2009 the Turkish leader stormed out of a debate with Israel’s then-president Shimon Peres over its military operation in Gaza the previous year and vowed not to return.
Erdoğan has never been back, though Turkish officials began attending again after a few years.
Erdoğan has criticized Israel for the death toll in Gaza and defended Hamas as a group fighting for Palestinian rights but stopped short of cutting ties with the Jewish state. Turkey is one of the few countries in the region to recognize Israel.
Israel’s offensive in Gaza began after Hamas attacked from the territory on October 7. Much of the Gaza Strip has since been reduced to rubble, and more than 24,000 people have been killed, according to health officials there.