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On Wednesday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, was "no different than Adolf Hitler", and compared the IDF attacks in Gaza to the treatment the Jews received from the Nazis.
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He later claimed that "Israel attacks hospitals, schools, places of worship and kills journalists. "We are making international efforts to reach a cease-fire in Gaza. Germany is silent about Israel's crimes against the citizens in Gaza because it is paying for what Hitler did," Erdogan said in an event held in Ankara adding that Turkey "is ready to welcome academics and scientists who have faced persecution due to their views regarding the conflict."
"Erdogan, who commits genocide against the Kurds, who holds a world record for imprisoning journalists who oppose his rule, is the last one who can preach morality to us," Netanyahu said in response. "The IDF is the most moral army in the world that fights and eliminates the most abhorrent and cruel terrorist organization in the world, Hamas-ISIS, which has committed crimes against humanity which Erdogan praises it and hosts its senior officials."
Head of the National Unity party, Minister Benny Gantz, also condemned Erdogan's words, calling them "a disgrace to the memory of the Holocaust and a distortion of reality. Hamas is the one who committed a terrible massacre. Removing the threat of the terrorist organization from the citizens of Israel is an existential necessity and a moral act like no other," he said.
During the climate conference in Dubai, Erdogan attacked Israel, in relation to the IDF's actions in Gaza. "These actions cannot be justified. These are war crimes," he said. "Those responsible should be brought before an international court." He called for the establishment of a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
On November 15, Erdogan claimed that "Israel is committing a genocide in Gaza, we will act in the international arena to prevent it," and stated that it is a "terrorist state." The Turkish president also claimed that Hamas is "a party that won elections in Palestine," even though such elections have not been held in the Gaza Strip since 2006. In fact, Hamas forcefully took control of Gaza in 2007 after fighting erupted and Fatah officials were thrown off roofs.
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Netanyahu and Erdogan at odds amid Gaza War
(Photo: Marc Israel Sellem, Ludovic MARIN / AFP)
Even earlier, on November 4, the Turkish Foreign Ministry announced that the ambassador to Israel, Sakir Ozkan Torunlar, would return to Ankara for consultations following the IDF's actions in its war in Gaza. The Turkish Foreign Ministry issued a statement explaining the ambassador was recalled "in view of the unfolding humanitarian tragedy in Gaza caused by the continuing attacks by Israel against civilians, and Israel's refusal of calls for a cease-fire and continuous and unhindered flow of humanitarian aid."
Since the Hamas' brutal attack on October 7, Erdogan has attacked Israel and supported Hamas in various instances, including hosting Hamas senior officials in Turkey. Erdogan's recent attack came a little more than three months after he met with Netanyahu during the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
During the meeting, the two leaders discussed advancing the countries' relations in the fields of trade, economy and energy, and regional and international issues, including normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia. Netanyahu said at the beginning of the meeting "The ties are getting stronger." Erdogan's office said at the time that the two discussed "political, economic and regional issues, including the Israeli-Palestinian issue."