Foreign Minister Israel Katz on Friday blasted Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, after he called on NATO to stop its cooperation with Israel.
Erdogan, who spoke at the NATO summit in Washington on Thursday, said that it is not possible for NATO to continue its partnership with the Israeli administration.
"Until comprehensive, sustainable peace is established in Palestine, attempts at cooperation with Israel within NATO will not be approved by Turkey," Erdogan stated.
In response, Katz wrote in a post on social media site X, “Erdogan declares at the NATO summit that he will not allow NATO to cooperate with Israel.”
“First of all, Erdogan, you decide nothing. Furthermore, a country like Turkey, which supports the murderers and rapists of Hamas and the Iranian axis of evil, should not be a member of NATO,” added Katz. “You disgrace Ataturk's legacy!”
The Turkish President has resumed his frequent verbal attacks on Israel since the start of the Israel-Hamas war in October.
In one speech, the Turkish President said that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “committed one of the greatest atrocities of this century in Gaza and has already put his name down in history as the butcher of Gaza."
The Turkish Trade Ministry announced in early May it had suspended all export and import operations with Israel due to what it described as its "aggression against Palestine in violation of international law and human rights."
The move came several weeks after Turkey restricted exports to Israel of 54 product categories.
Erdogan later said that Turkey's move to halt trade with Israel was designed to force the country to a ceasefire in Gaza.
(Israel National News' North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Israel National News articles, however, is Israeli time.)