Turkey’s Erdogan, Israel’s Netanyahu trade genocide barbs

ISTANBUL: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused Benjamin Netanyahu of “following the path of Hitler” on Thursday after the Israeli leader alleged he was an “antisemitic dictator” who had committed a “genocide” against the Kurds.

The relationship between Israel and Turkey has nosedived since the Gaza war started in October 2023, with the pair regularly trading allegations of genocide and public insults.

The latest exchange erupted after Erdogan on Wednesday said Israel’s actions in Lebanon and Syria were a threat to Turkish security.

“Turkey’s security doesn’t just start in (its southernmost province of) Hatay, it begins in Aleppo, in Damascus and in Beirut,” he said, warning Turkey “will not tolerate any fait accompli in our neighbouring countries” – in what was understood to mean Israel creating new irreversible realities on the ground.

Netanyahu hit back, pledging to continue military action wherever needed to deal with the security threat from Iran and its proxies.

“The antisemitic dictator Erdogan, who commits genocide against the Kurds, supports the Hamas terrorist organisation, oppresses his own people and imprisons political rivals, is the last person who can lecture Israel on morality,” he said in a statement.

“Israel… will continue to take forceful action against Iran and its proxies, which threaten the Middle East and the entire world.”

Erdogan, who has frequently accused Netanyahu’s government of genocide in Gaza, with his top diplomat warning it might do the same in Lebanon, replied on Thursday.

“Those who follow Hitler’s path should not forget their fate will be like that of other tyrants in history,” he said.

“Under the current administration, Israel has become a factory churning out distress, fuelled solely by blood and tears, and producing nothing but instability and chaos,” he said, vowing to “ensure the perpetrators of such massacres are held accountable”.

Israel has been bombarding southern Lebanon since the Hezbollah militia began firing missiles at the Israeli north on March 2, dragging Lebanon into the Middle East war.

Despite a brief pause due to an April ceasefire, the fighting has continued despite ongoing talks in Washington to end the violence.

Israel has also been active in Syria, launching hundreds of strikes and regular incursions into the south, where it demands a demilitarised zone.

Turkey has been seeking to end its conflict with the Kurdish militant PKK, which last year renounced its armed struggle against Ankara after four decades of violence that killed at least 50,000 people on both sides.