The transformation taking place in Kurdish politics today is too deep and too geopolitical to be explained by Abdullah Ocalan’s anti-Israel rhetoric. His rhetoric is not the cause of this change; it is a reflection of a much broader strategic rupture.
A recent analysis published in The Jerusalem Post interprets these developments largely through Ocalan’s anti-Israel statements and suggests that there are two factions within the PKK. However, the decisions taken by the PKK and developments on the ground point less to an open split than to a strategic repositioning.
In 2025, the PKK decided to end its armed struggle and dissolve its organizational structure. Ocalan’s call thus moved beyond a personal statement and became an organizational decision.