A former spokesman for Tel Aviv’s Ichilov Hospital claimed this week that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan became seriously ill about seven years ago and that the Mossad sent an Israeli doctor to treat him and save his life.

The claim was made by former Ichilov spokesman Avi Shushan during an appearance on Channel 14, where he said that when Erdogan became seriously ill, the Mossad asked Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to approve sending an Israeli physician to Turkey. According to Shushan, Netanyahu agreed, the doctor was dispatched, and Erdogan’s life was saved.

The report comes against the backdrop of Erdogan’s repeated threats and attacks against Israel in recent years. Shushan did not identify the doctor by name during his remarks, but the report pointed to a January 2022 report in Israel that said Erdogan had received medical advice from an Israeli physician, Prof. Itzhak Shapira, deputy director-general of Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, better known as Ichilov Hospital.

According to that 2022 report, Prof. Shapira advises world leaders on medical issues and treatment. Shapira is a cardiologist by training, which led to speculation at the time that Erdogan may have been dealing with heart-related problems, though no official diagnosis was ever made public.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)