Israeli FM snaps at ‘war criminal’ Erdogan for throwing support behind Lebanon

The Turkish president called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a ‘madman’ over his plans to spread war across the region

News Desk - The Cradle

Israel’s Foreign Minister Israel Katz called Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan a “war criminal” in response to comments made by the Turkish head of state on 26 June, saying Ankara would support Lebanon in a war against Israel.

“[Erdogan] announced his support for Hezbollah against Israel’s threats,” Katz said via a post on social media. “Erdogan is a war criminal who slaughters innocent Kurds across the Syrian border and tries to deny Israel its right to self-defense against a terror organization attacking from Lebanon under Iran’s orders.”

The Israeli official later made direct comments targeting the Turkish president in the post, telling Erdogan, “Be quiet and shame on you!”

Erdogan, in an address to the parliamentary group of his Justice and Development Party on Wednesday, blasted western support of Israel, affirming solidarity with the Lebanese front if war with Israel ensues.

“Israel, which has devastated Gaza, is now setting its sights on Lebanon. We see that Western powers are supporting Israel behind the scenes,” the Turkish head of state said. “Turkiye stands with [the] brotherly Lebanese people and state and I invite other countries in the region to stand in solidarity with Lebanon as well.”

Erdogan added in his address to the party that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plan to allow the war to spill over across the region “will lead to a major catastrophe,” further stating that the Islamic world and West Asia nations should be at the front line in opposition to these “bloody plans.”

“It is extremely dire, pathetic that states, which talk about freedom, human rights, and justice, are held captive by a madman like Netanyahu,” Erdogan stated.

On Monday, Turkiye also expressed its differences with western policy when Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Ankara is growing impatient with the EU’s procrastination in granting Turkiye membership.

“We have relations and are holding talks, negotiations with the BRICS countries and they’re also going through an evolution. If the EU had the will to take a step forward, our perspective on certain issues could be different,” Fidan said.

The foreign minister noted that “there is a military alliance within NATO, but an economic alliance has not materialized. Therefore, our search has been underway.”

However, despite Erdogan’s anti-Israel rhetoric and previous sanctions implemented against Israel by Turkiye, the economic relationship between the two is still strong as trade continues between Ankara and Tel Aviv.

Turkish products are being shipped to Israel via third-party nations like Greece; data released by Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) show that Tel Aviv imported $116 million of goods from Turkiye in May, regardless of Erdogan’s suspected total trade ban to Israel decreed in the same month.