In Istanbul, Turkish President Erdogan accused Israel of war crimes and described it as an occupying power. Israel’s foreign minister announced the withdrawal of all diplomatic missions from Turkey.
Tensions are rising between Israel and Turkey over the military operation in the Gaza Strip. The Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem recalled its ambassadors from Turkey on Saturday.
“In light of Turkey’s extreme statements, I have ordered the return of diplomatic representatives to review relations between Israel and Turkey,” Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said on Twitter follower X.
Massive accusations against President Erdogan
According to Turkish and Israeli media reports, Ambassador Irid Lillian and other embassy staff left Turkey last week. Earlier, Israel also asked its citizens to leave Turkey. The background is concern about attacks.
On Saturday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan made the sweeping accusations at one of the largest pro-Palestinian rallies since the war began. “Israel has been committing war crimes for 22 days, but Western leaders have not even been able to call Israel to a ceasefire, let alone respond,” Erdogan told hundreds of thousands of supporters in Istanbul. “We will tell the whole world that Israel is a war criminal.”
Harsh criticism from Italy too
In his speech, Erdogan reiterated that, in his view, the radical Islamist Hamas that controls the Gaza Strip is not a terrorist organization. He described Israel as an occupying power.
This compares Turkey to several NATO allies, the European Union and some Gulf states, where Hamas is classified as a terrorist organization. Turkey has condemned the killing of around 1,400 Israeli civilians in the October 7 Hamas attack that triggered the current Israeli offensive. However, Erdogan has now accused some Western countries of supporting Israel unconditionally. It has been heavily criticized in countries including Israel and Italy.
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