In Istanbul, Turkish President Erdogan accused Israel of war crimes and described it as an occupying power. Israel’s foreign minister then announced that all diplomatic representatives would be withdrawn from Turkey.
Tensions are growing between Israel and Turkey over military action in the Gaza Strip. The Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem recalled its diplomats from Turkey on Saturday.
“In view of the serious statements from Turkey, I have ordered the return of diplomatic representatives to reassess relations between Israel and Turkey,” Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said on Twitter follower X.
Massive accusations from President Erdogan
According to Turkish and Israeli media reports, Ambassador Irit Lillian and other embassy employees left Turkey last week. Israel had previously also asked its citizens to leave Turkey. The background was concerns about attacks.
On Saturday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan made massive accusations at one of the largest pro-Palestinian rallies since the start of the war. “Israel has been committing war crimes for 22 days, but Western leaders are unable to even call on Israel for a ceasefire, let alone respond to it,” Erdogan told hundreds of thousands of supporters in Istanbul. “We will tell the whole world that Israel is a war criminal.”
Sharp criticism also from Italy
In his speech, Erdogan reiterated that, in his view, the militant Islamist Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, is not a terrorist organization. He described Israel as an occupying power.
This puts Turkey in contrast to many NATO allies, the European Union and some Gulf states, where Hamas is classified as terrorist. Turkey has condemned the deaths of around 1,400 Israeli civilians in the Hamas attack on October 7, which triggered the current Israeli offensive. However, Erdogan is now accusing some Western countries of unconditionally supporting Israel. This has met with sharp criticism in Israel and Italy, among others.