Türkiye must strengthen domestic front amid regional threats: Kurtulmus

Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmus warned on Monday that Türkiye must strengthen its domestic front amid intensifying geopolitical competition across the Middle East and surrounding regions, citing Israel's ongoing war on Gaza and efforts to destabilize the wider area.

Regional threats and domestic stability

Speaking at Gaziantep University's 2026-2027 academic year opening ceremony, Kurtulmus said global powers and their militaries are increasingly converging on the Balkans, Caucasus, Black Sea, Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East. "Türkiye has no choice but to stand firmly on its feet in this region," he said, adding that regional developments had made it necessary for the country to strengthen its domestic front.

Terrorism's economic and human toll

Kurtulmus said Israel had been making extraordinary efforts over the past three years to destabilize the region under the pretext of Gaza — adopting an approach that threatened all countries in the area. He noted that the nearly 50-year-long terrorism problem had hindered Türkiye's development, causing tens of thousands of deaths and imposing an economic burden exceeding $2 trillion. "Türkiye no longer has the luxury of sacrificing even a single child of this country to terrorism," he said.

Unprecedented parliamentary consensus

The parliament speaker highlighted the establishment of the National Solidarity, Brotherhood and Democracy Commission as a key step in addressing the issue, noting that its report was approved by 47 lawmakers after 21 meetings with civil society groups. He said a law passed by parliament on Aug. 10 received 467 votes, with lawmakers from all but one political party supporting it, describing the outcome as an unprecedented level of consensus in Türkiye's republican history. "The report was the opening of the door. The law, meanwhile, is opening that door all the way," he said, citing contributions from President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, MHP leader Devlet Bahceli and other parties, and adding that the process aims to establish not only a "terror-free Türkiye" but also a "terror-free region."