In another bout of fiery remarks, Turkish President Erdogan, who has refused to condemn Hamas’s October 7 attacks, compares Netanyahu to fascist leaders and Israel akin to a war criminal state.
ANNA BARSKY MARCH 9, 2024 19:43
Updated: MARCH 9, 2024 21:14
Netanyahu and Erdogan(photo credit: REUTERS)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan delivered another antisemitic speech, during which he compared Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to fascist leaders on Saturday.
In the speech, Erdogan compared Netanyahu to historical fascist leaders, stating that “Netanyahu earned his place alongside Hitler, Mussolini, and Stalin.”
The Turkish President also refused to condemn Hamas’s actions on October 7 and even stood by the terrorist group in his rhetoric. Erdogan accused Israel of acting as “the Nazis of our time while committing humanitarian crimes in Gaza.” He refused to call Hamas a terrorist organization: “We cannot be coerced into designating Hamas as a terrorist organization. We communicate with them openly and stand behind them.”
Israeli response to Erdogan’s fiery rhetoric
In response, Netanyahu said, “Israel observes the laws of war and will not be subject to moral preaching from Erdogan, who supports murderers and rapists of the Hamas terrorist organization, denies the Armenian genocide, massacres Kurds in his own country, and cracks down on regime opponents and journalists.”
National Unity Party leader Benny Gantz weighed in on this exchange, criticizing Erdogan for his support of Hamas. “Erdogan standing with Hamas makes him a supporter of crimes against humanity, and comparing the Prime Minister of Israel to dictators is the height of hypocrisy,” Gantz stated in a post to X.
“The fact that Erdogan believes that Hamas is not a terrorist organization explains his conduct towards his own citizens. Israel will continue to adhere to international law even in a war against those who have proven to have no humanity.”
העמידה של ארדואן מאחורי חמאס הופכת אותו לתומך של פשעים נגד האנושות, וההשוואה של ראש ממשלת ישראל לדיקטטורים – היא שיא של צביעות.העובדה שארדואן סבור שהחמאס אינו ארגון טרור, מסבירה את התנהלותו כלפי אזרחיו.ישראל תמשיך להקפיד על החוק הבינלאומי גם במלחמה מול מי שהוכיחו שאין להם צלם…
— בני גנץ – Benny Gantz (@gantzbe) March 9, 2024
In another statement supporting Netanyahu, Foreign Minister Israel Katz said that “The murders and sex crimes of Hamas against Jews and the State of Israel makes it one of the greatest acts of oppression and antisemitism in history, and Turkey as the biggest supporter of terrorism in the world right after Iran. What a disgrace to the republic founded by the father of modern Turkey, Kemal Ataturk.”
התמיכה של ארדואן @RTErdogan בפשעי הרצח והמין של החמאס נגד היהודים ומדינת ישראל, הופכת אותו לאחד מגדולי הצוררים והאנטישמים בהיסטוריה, ואת טורקיה למדינה תומכת הטרור הגדולה בעולם לצד אירן. איזו חרפה לרפובליקה שייסד אבי טורקיה המודרנית כמאל אטאטורק.
— ישראל כ”ץ Israel Katz (@Israel_katz) March 9, 2024
This is not the first time since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war that Erdogan has attacked Israel. “Netanyahu has gone down in history as the butcher of Gaza, and we are preparing to prosecute him,” Erdogan has previously stated.
In another instance, the Turkish leader accused “Israel and other parties as being behind the terrorist organizations in northern Syria and Iraq. Israel would not have lasted three days without the support of Western countries. We are making preparations to declare Israel a war criminal in front of the world.”
Content retrieved from: https://www.jpost.com/israel-hamas-war/article-791070.