Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan threatened to invade Israel on Sunday, prompting a sharp warning from Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz.
Amid growing fears across the world of an all-out war between Israel and Hezbollah after a rocket attack from Lebanon that killed 12 Druze children and teenagers in the Golan Heights on Saturday night, Turkey ramped up the bellicose rhetoric with its Foreign Ministry also comparing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Hitler
In a televised address according to Reuter’s, the Turkish leader said, “We must be very strong so that Israel can’t do these ridiculous things to Palestine. Just like we entered Karabakh, just like we entered Libya, we might do similar to them.”
He added, “There is no reason why we cannot do this. We must be strong so that we can take these steps.”
Turkey’s Foreign Ministry followed by tweeting that “the end of the genocidal Hitler will be the same as the end of the genocidal Netanyahu. Just as the genocidal Nazis were held accountable, so will those who try to destroy the Palestinians. Humanity will stand by the Palestinians. You will not be able to destroy the Palestinians.|
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, tweeting praise for Erdoğan after his remarks on Sunday, said the country’s president had become “the voice of humanity’s conscience. International Zionist circles, especially Israel, who want to suppress this rightful voice are in a great panic. History has ended the same way for all genocidal people and their supporters.”
In December last year, Erdoğan himself said Netanyahu was no different to Hitler.
But Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz warned Erdoğan in Hebrew to watch his step, remarking:“Erdoğan follows in the footsteps of Saddam Hussein and threatens to attack Israel. Just let him remember what happened there and how it ended.”
Yair Lapid, Israel’s Opposition leader, commented that the Turkish president was “ranting and raving again” and was “a danger to the Middle East”.
He added, “The world, and especially NATO members, must strongly condemn his outrageous threats against Israel and force him to end his support for Hamas. We won’t accept threats from a wannabe dictator.”
Dutch right-wing politician Gert Wilders said Turkey should be “kicked out of Nato” after “Islamofascist Erdoğan threatens to invade Israel. This guy is totally nuts.”
Abraham Foxman, Anti-Defamation League director emeritus in the USA, wrote that “Erdoğan of Turkey, a member of NATO, is threatening the State of Israel with a military attack! Where is the outrage and condemnation from the United States—and all our NATO allies?”
