
Foreign Minister Israel Katz on Friday fired back at Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, after Erdogan accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza.
Erdogan said earlier on Friday that the crisis in Gaza is a testament to the collapse of the current global order.
Speaking at the Antalya Diplomacy Forum, Erdogan said Western powers that have been unconditional in their support for Israel are "complicit in the bloodshed with their hypocritical policies."
"What is happening in Gaza is not a conflict, it is a genocide, because even wars have their own rules," he said, according to the Anadolu news agency, adding, "I'm talking about treacherous, dishonorable targeting, barbarity that lacks any sense of honor."
Erdogan said Turkey is "following Israel's barbarism with deep concern," adding he was referring to "dastardly barbarism that targets civilians waiting in line for aid."
Responding to Erdogan later on Friday, Katz wrote on X, “Erdogan, who is carrying out a regular massacre of Kurds in Turkey and the region, accuses Israel of committing deliberate genocide in Gaza. Mr. Erdogan, we are not like you. We are fighting against your partners from Hamas whom you hosted in Turkey and enabled them to carry out the massacres and murders. You should be silent and be ashamed!”
Israel and Turkey formally announced in August of 2022 that they would normalize relations by returning the ambassadors and consuls, after years of tensions.
However, since the start of the war against Hamas in Gaza, Erdogan has resumed his frequent verbal attacks on Israel.
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."
Erdogan later said that Netanyahu is “no different than Hitler”.
(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.)