Turkish president labels Israel a ‘terrorist state’ Netanyahu accuses Erdogan of supporting Hamas
In response to Erdogan’s comments, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fired back on social media platform X, accusing Erdogan of supporting the terror state Hamas.
Tel AvivAmid Isarel’s intensified military operation in Gaza, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan labeled Israel a “terrorist state” in a recent speech to his ruling party, CNN reported. Erdogan said: “Israel is implementing a strategy of total destruction of a city and its people. I say very clearly and honestly that Israel is a terrorist state.”
The Turkish president also vowed to take steps to ensure that Israel’s political and military leaders will be tried in international courts for their actions in Gaza. “We will take steps to ensure that Israel’s political and military leaders who brutally murdered the oppressed people of Gaza are brought to justice in international courts,” he said, according to CNN.
In response to Erdogan’s comments, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fired back on social media platform X, accusing Erdogan of supporting the “terrorist state of Hamas.”
Netanyahu emphasized: “On the other hand, there are forces that support the terrorists. One of them is President Erdogan of Turkey, who calls Israel a terrorist state, but supports the terrorist state Hamas and bombs Turkish villages in Turkey itself. So we don’t get any lectures from them.”
Erdogan did not stop there and accused Netanyahu of threatening Gaza with nuclear bombs. He warned: “I say to Netanyahu: you have atomic bombs, atomic bombs and you are threatening them. We know this. And your end is near. You can have as many nukes as you want. Whatever you have, you’re on your way out.”
Erdogan had canceled a planned visit to Israel the month before, claiming that Turkey “has no problems with the Israeli state; However, Ankara would never condone Tel Aviv committing atrocities,” CNN said.
He also reiterated his position that Western countries consider Hamas a terrorist organization, claiming that “Hamas is not a terrorist organization, but a liberation group struggling to protect its country and citizens.”
Meanwhile, Israel’s Foreign Ministry, in response to a UN Security Council resolution passed today calling for “extended humanitarian pauses” in Gaza, demanded that the body work to rescue the hostages held in the Gaza Strip , according to The Times of Israel.
In a statement, Israel’s Foreign Ministry said there is “no room for extended humanitarian pauses while the 239 hostages are still in the hands of Hamas terrorists.”
The UN Security Council resolution called for the immediate release of all hostages. A number of reports today indicated that a possible deal is in the works to free some prisoners in exchange for a several-day break in the fighting, The Times of Israel reported.
(With inputs from ANI)