Turkish President Erdogan has attacked Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu for his actions in Gaza and compared him to Hitler. Erdogan also criticized Germany. Netanyahu reacted sharply to the comparison.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has compared Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Adolf Hitler in connection with the war against Hamas in Gaza.
“We’ve seen Israel’s Nazi camps in stadiums, haven’t we? What is that? How are you different from Hitler?” Erdogan said at a science awards ceremony in Ankara. He did not explain what he meant exactly, but videos of Palestinian prisoners being held in a stadium in the Gaza Strip have been circulating on social media in recent days.
Criticism also of Germany
“Is there anything that Netanyahu did less than Hitler? No,” Erdogan continued. The Turkish head of state also criticized the fact that Germany has not condemned Netanyahu for the many civilian victims in the Gaza Strip. “I’m saying this very clearly, look: Germany is still paying the price today for what Hitler did. That’s why Germany is silent, it has lowered its head.”
Erdogan also sharply criticizes the USA
Erdogan, as head of state of a NATO country actually an ally of the USA, also once again criticized US support for Israel. With help from Washington, Netanyahu’s government was able to kill more than 20,000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, he said. The Hamas-controlled Health Ministry had previously said that at least 21,110 people had been killed since the Gaza war began on October 7. The numbers cannot be independently verified.
Erdogan is a staunch supporter of the Palestinians. He refuses to classify the Islamist Hamas as terrorist and repeatedly attacks Netanyahu verbally. For example, he also referred to him as the “Butcher of Gaza.” However, Erdogan called Hamas, which is classified as a terrorist organization by the USA and the EU, a “liberation group”.
Netanyahu rejects Hitler comparison
The reaction from Israel was immediate. Israel’s Prime Minister Netanyahu sharply rejected Erdogan’s Hitler comparison. “Erdogan, who commits genocide against the Kurds, who holds a world record in imprisoning journalists who oppose his rule, is the last person who can lecture us,” Netanyahu said.
Israel’s army is fighting in the Gaza Strip against the “most heinous and brutal terrorist organization in the world”: Hamas has “committed crimes against humanity,” Netanyahu continued.
Israel’s President Izchak Herzog also strongly opposed Erdogan’s statements. “His words are deeply offensive to every Jew everywhere,” he said. Erdogan violated the memory of millions of Jews who were murdered by the Nazis.
Hamas attack on October 7th
The latest war in the Middle East began on October 7th with Hamas’s unprecedented attack on Israel. Hundreds of Hamas terrorists had entered Israel and committed atrocities, mostly against civilians. According to Israeli figures, around 1,140 people were killed and 250 others were taken hostage in the Gaza Strip. In response to the Hamas attack, Israel has since launched massive attacks on the Gaza Strip.