Over its position on the Israel-Palestine War, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has told his government to skip the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, over its position on the Israel-Palestine War.

Mehmet Simsek, Turkey’s treasury and finance minister, wanted to go to the event, which is where the global business and political elite meet, but Erdogan ordered him not to, Bloomberg reported.

Erdogan has been a long-time supporter of the Palestinian cause and has harshly criticized Israel’s attack on Gaza.

Jordan and the Gulf states, which are Western allies, have also given verbal support for the Palestinians, but Erdogan has been louder in backing Hamas, making him clash with Europe and the US which think Hamas is a “terror” group.

Erdogan has said Hamas is “a liberation group” and called Israel a “war criminal”. Turkey, along with Qatar and Lebanon, has also been a base for Hamas officials.

After the 7 October Hamas-led attack on Israel, the World Economic Forum issued a fairly mild statement, saying it “deeply mourns the tragic loss of life of so many civilians in Israel and Gaza”.

But Bloomberg reported that Turkish officials were angry when Klaus Schwab, the Davos forum’s founder and executive chairman, labelled the Hamas-led attacks as “terrorist attacks against Israel”.

Turkey’s choice to boycott the conference over the war in Gaza makes it different from other Middle Eastern countries, including those that have claimed to be strong supporters of Palestine.

Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman al-Thani is expected to attend Davos, along with Iraq’s Prime Minister Mohammed Shiaa’ al-Sudani. The Foreign Minister of Saudi Arabia will also be there.

Iraq’s parliament has made a law that bans normalising ties with Israel, but the Iraqi leader is going to Davos to seek investments for his country’s struggling economy.

Israel will also have a big presence at the conference. Israeli President Isaac Herzog is scheduled to speak on Thursday and the Israeli delegation will show a private screening of footage of the 7 October Hamas-led attacks, when 1040 people died and 240 were taken to Gaza as hostages. At least 100 are still captive.

Israel hit back at the Hamas-led attack by bombing Gaza with air strikes and starting a ground invasion.

The offensive has killed more than 24,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and an estimated 70 percent of homes in Gaza have been ruined or damaged by Israeli air strikes.

This is not the first time Erdogan has used Davos to show his support for Palestine. In 2009, he walked out of a live debate with Israel’s then-President Shimon Peres over Israel’s attack on Gaza the year before.

He said to moderator David Ignatius, “I don’t think I will come back to Davos after this.“