*ISTANBUL: Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday blastedIsraeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu as a “tyrant” who “massacred”Palestinian children.*
Erdogan was responding to comments from Netanyahu earlier on Wednesdayslamming the Turkish leader as a “dictator” and “a joke”, after a day oftit-for-tat exchanges between officials in both countries.
Turkey and Israel have tense relations as Erdogan is a vocal critic ofIsraeli policies.
“Hey Netanyahu, behave yourself. You are a tyrant, you are a tyrant whomassacred seven-year-old Palestinian children,” Erdogan told a rally ofsupporters in the Turkish capital Ankara.
Erdogan also refered to clashes between Israeli police and Palestinians inJerusalem, denouncing Israeli security forces for entering a “holy place”.
“Do not provoke. Look, we have not oppressed any of the Jews in thiscountry. We have not done anything you did to any synagogues here. Don’tprovoke us. We will not fall into this trap.”
The latest exchange came after Netanyahu had called Israel the nation-stateof “the Jewish people” only, not all its citizens. That prompted Turkey onTuesday to accuse the Israeli leader of “blatant racism”.
Netanyahu struck back in a statement from his office early Wednesday.
“Turkey’s dictator Erdogan attacks Israel’s democracy while Turkishjournalists and judges fill his prisons,” it read. “What a joke!”
Turkish presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin was swift to respond onTwitter, accusing Netanyahu of attacking Erdogan “for exposing him” afterthe Israeli premier’s “racist remarks” towards Arabs and Muslims.
“The apartheid state he leads occupies Palestinian lands, kills women &children & imprisons Palestinians in their own land,” he wrote.
The two countries in 2016 ended a six-year rift triggered by the Israelistorming of a Gaza-bound ship that left 10 Turkish activists dead and ledto a downgrading of diplomatic ties.
Netanyahu has been demonising Israeli Arabs, who make up some 17.5 percentof the population, in a bid to boost right-wing turnout for April polls.
After the polls, Netanyahu will also face a hearing to defend himselfagainst corruption allegations which have dogged his campaign. – APP/AFP