Turkey’s President Erdogan has likened Benjamin Netanyahu to Adolf Hitler in a vicious swipe at the Israeli prime minister.
Mr Erdogan also yesterday compared Israel’s attacks on Gaza to the treatment of Jewish people by the Nazis.
He said Western countries supporting Israel were complicit in what he called war crimes, adding that Turkey would welcome academics and scientists facing persecution for their views on the conflict.
‘They used to speak ill of Hitler,’ he said. ‘What difference do you have from Hitler? They are going to make us miss Hitler. Is what this Netanyahu is doing any less than what Hitler did? It is not.’
He added: ‘He is richer than Hitler, he gets the support from the West. All sorts of support comes from the United States. And what did they do with all this support? They killed more than 20,000 Gazans.’
Mr Erdogan (pictured) said Western countries supporting Israel were complicit in what he called war crimes, adding that Turkey would welcome academics and scientists facing persecution for their views on the conflict
Mr Erdogan also yesterday compared Israel’s attacks on Gaza to the treatment of Jewish people by the Nazis. Pictured: Hitler making a speech in 1930
Mr Netanyahu (pictured posing for a photo with Israeli troops) responded by saying that the Turkish president should be the last person to lecture Israel
Mr Netanyahu responded by saying that the Turkish president should be the last person to lecture Israel.
‘Erdogan, who commits genocide against the Kurds, who holds a world record for imprisoning journalists who oppose his rule, is the last person who can preach morality to us.’
Despite its criticism of Israel, Turkey has maintained commercial ties with the state, drawing a backlash from opposition parties and Iran.
But Ankara says that trade with Israel has fallen sharply since October 7, when Hamas launched its cross-border rampage that killed 1,200 people, prompting Israel to launch its war on Hamas.
Unlike its Western allies and some Arab nations, NATO member Turkey does not view Hamas as a terrorist organisation.