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Türkiye’s ruling AK Party spokesman Omer Celik said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had made “genocide, massacre, lies, murder and crimes against humanity” his “identity card” in a sharp response to an earlier statement targeting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
"The expressions that should have been used for Netanyahu in the statement issued by the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office have been used for our President," Celik wrote on X.
Netanyahu’s government had repeatedly targeted Erdogan because of the Turkish president’s stance against Israel’s actions in Gaza, while Celik highlighted Erdogan’s uncompromising stance against a "massacre and genocide network" and its killings and lies.
Türkiye’s Communications Directorate also condemned the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office’s remarks targeting Erdogan, describing them as another sign of the "desperation" of a government avoiding accountability for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The directorate asserted that the Israeli government’s remarks lacked historical facts and political seriousness and reflected its discomfort with Türkiye’s position and Erdogan’s refusal to remain silent in the face of what it described as the truth.
The directorate also accused Netanyahu and his allies of using "cheap politics" aimed partly at gaining an advantage in elections, arguing that the approach had no support in Israeli society, the region, the international community or Türkiye.
It further warned that Israel’s election campaign had increasingly come under the influence of "irresponsible security populism" and an increasingly aggressive policy of threats.
The directorate said Netanyahu’s efforts to portray Türkiye as a new threat were part of that domestic political strategy and warned that attempts to raise tensions for the sake of internal political competition posed serious risks to regional and global peace and stability.
"Türkiye, as yesterday, continues to stand against the oppressor and alongside the oppressed, and will continue to resolutely defend peace, justice and stability in our region, whatever the cost," the statement said.
The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office had earlier called Erdogan an "antisemitic dictator," accusing him of seeking to extend his aggression against Israel into Syria and warning that Israel would not tolerate such a move.
The statement also referred to Türkiye’s request for Interpol red notices for Netanyahu and Afek Moskovitch, calling Ankara’s efforts to intimidate Israeli leaders and soldiers "pathetic" and saying they "will go nowhere."
Türkiye requested the red notices in connection with a case involving an attack on Global Sumud Flotilla activists in international waters, Justice Minister Akin Gurlek said earlier that day. The activists had been attempting to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza.
The statement came after Türkiye and 11 other countries strongly condemned Israeli airstrikes targeting a military airbase in northwestern Syria, calling the attack a dangerous escalation and a clear violation of international law.
The countries were Türkiye, Algeria, Indonesia, Jordan, Palestine, Qatar, Lebanon, Malaysia, Mauritania, Pakistan, Somalia and Saudi Arabia.
The attack on Tuesday struck the Abu Zuhur Military Air Base near Aleppo in eight separate hits, damaging its runway and storage facilities. Israel justified the operation as a preemptive move to prevent what it claimed was a Turkish military deployment at the site, while Türkiye denied the claim.
Türkiye and seven other countries also condemned Israel’s continued settlement policies in the occupied Palestinian territories and categorically rejected the E1 settlement plan east of occupied East Jerusalem.
The foreign ministers unequivocally condemned Israel’s settlement policies and warned that the E1 plan, which involves building thousands of settlement homes on strategic land east of Jerusalem, constitutes a "dangerous escalation" that advances settlement expansion and annexation while undermining the geographical contiguity of the Occupied Palestinian Territory, particularly between the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
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