Turkey trades ‘Hitler’ and ‘Saddam’ comparisons with Israel in diplomatic row
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s remarks about possible military action against Israel has led to an exchange of severe accusations between the two countries.
“If we are strong, Israel cannot [do these things] to Palestine. Just as we intervened in Karabakh and Libya, we can do the same there,” Erdoğan remarked yesterday and likened Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu to Adolf Hitler.
Erdoğan says Turkey could use military force against Israel ‘just as we did in Karabakh and Libya’
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz took to social media to compare the president to Saddam Hussein in response.
“Erdoğan is following in Saddam Hussein's footsteps by threatening Israel. Just let him remember what happened there and how it ended,” Katz wrote on X, tagging Erdoğan in his post. The former Iraqi leader was executed in 2006, after his country was invaded by the US.
ארדואן הולך בדרכו של סדאם חוסיין ומאיים לתקוף את ישראל. רק שיזכור מה קרה שם ואיך זה הסתיים.@RTErdogan pic.twitter.com/6GykLtLoh4
— ישראל כ”ץ Israel Katz (@Israel_katz) July 28, 2024
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a swift response on social media: “Just as the fate of the genocidal Hitler was sealed, so will be Netanyahu’s. Those who attempt to exterminate the Palestinians will be held accountable just like the Nazis.”
Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan also weighed in on social media, asserting that Erdoğan being the “voice of conscience” caused zionist circles to “go frantic.”
Ömer Çelik, the spokesperson for Erdoğan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), issued a more detailed rebuttal, again drawing parallels with the Israeli government and the Nazis.
Çelik likened Katz to Joachim von Ribbentrop, Hitler’s foreign minister, who was convicted of war crimes at the Nuremberg Trials. Çelik called Katz “a cog in the machine of massacres,” asserting that the continuous attacks on Erdoğan reflect discomfort with his stance on human values and morality.
İsrail Dışişleri Bakanı Katz, insanlık değerlerini ve barışı savunan Cumhurbaşkanımıza yönelik kullandığı ifadelerle haddini aştığı gibi tam bir Nazi olduğunu ortaya koymuştur. Cumhurbaşkanımıza dönük bu saldırılar, insanlık değerlerine, vicdanına ve haysiyetine düşman olanların… pic.twitter.com/hKssacOOot
— Ömer Çelik (@omerrcelik) July 29, 2024
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