The Turkish government rejects Netanyahu’s accusations against Erdogan and denounces the war in Gaza

The Ankara government on Friday rejected the accusations made by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu against Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during a speech delivered on Thursday at the UN General Assembly in New York. Turkish authorities described the claims as “unfounded.”

Burhanettin Diran, the Turkish government’s communications director, told Anadolu Agency that Netanyahu’s attacks cannot “make his massacres, the humanitarian disaster in Gaza and the prosecutions initiated under international law be forgotten.”

The exchange comes amid a sharp deterioration in relations between Israel and Turkey following the outbreak of the war in the Gaza Strip, triggered by Hamas’s attack on October 7, 2023. Erdogan called on Tuesday, also at the UN, for the immediate start of the enclave’s reconstruction and the protection of Palestinian children.

The Israeli delegation left the hall when the Turkish president called on states that had not recognized Palestine to reconsider their position. On Thursday, Netanyahu accused Erdogan of being a “tyrant” and said that Turkey had become a “super-spreader of antisemitic lies.” Turkey has recognized Israel, but Erdogan is a staunch critic of Israeli policies and has allowed Hamas leaders to maintain a presence on Turkish territory.