In response to President Erdogan’s “terror state” address, Prime Minister Netanyahu has spoken out.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s comments on Wednesday, claiming that Turkey was the true sponsor of terrorism and that Turkey had no right to lecture anyone.
Netanyahu remarked, quoting Israeli media, “He calls Israel a terrorist state, but in fact supports the terrorist state of Hamas.” He bombed Turkish communities inside his own borders, so we won’t take his sermons.
For years, Ankara has been at war with Kurdish separatists both domestically and internationally. It conducted several airstrikes against Kurds in Syria and Iraq as recently as last month.
In a speech to his Justice and Development Party (AKP) earlier on Wednesday, Erdogan called Israel a “terror state” for its treatment of the Palestinians living in Gaza.
Israel continues with its plan to completely destroy the city and its inhabitants. It is purposefully bombing civilians who are fleeing while spreading ruthless state terror. Israel is a terror state, I declare frankly and sincerely,” the Turkish president declared.
With the full support of the US and the West, Erdogan said that Israel has been “continuously committing war crimes for the last 40 days,” purposefully targeting “hospitals, streets, and mosques” in Gaza.
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In addition, he charged Netanyahu with threatening people with nuclear weapons and “carrying out the most heinous attack against women and children in all of history.”
Israeli Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu made the suggestion earlier this month to use a nuclear weapon on Gaza; Israel has not confirmed nor denied possessing such a weapon. His comments have drawn strong criticism from both domestic and Arab quarters.
In response to Eliyahu’s remarks, Defence Minister Yoav Gallant denounced them as “baseless and irresponsible,” and Opposition Leader Yair Lapid demanded that Netanyahu remove the minister from office for “harming Israeli society, the families of the hostages, and our international standing.” Eliyahu maintained that his remarks were “metaphorical” and that he had been fired.
After over 1,200 Israelis were killed in an attack on neighbouring communities and outposts by the Palestinian militant group Hamas on October 7, Israel declared war on them. From that time on, the Israeli Defence Forces have repeatedly carried out airstrikes and a ground invasion of the Palestinian enclave, and the area has been completely sealed off.
