*ANKARA: *Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused Benjamin Netanyahuon Sunday of being “a terrorist” after the Israeli prime minister rejectedAnkara’s “moral lessons” over deadly clashes in Gaza.

“Hey Netanyahu! You are an occupier. And it is as an occupier that are youare on those lands. At the same time, you are a terrorist,” Erdogan said ina televised speech in Adana, southern Turkey.

“What you do to the oppressed Palestinians will be part of history and wewill never forget it,” he said, adding: “The Israeli people areuncomfortable with what you’re doing.

“We are not guilty of any act of occupation.”

The comments came after Israeli soldiers killed 16 Palestinians and woundedhundreds more on Friday when a major demonstration led to clashes along theborder with the Gaza Strip.

Erdogan condemned Israel over its “inhumane attack”, prompting a sharpresponse from Netanyahu.

“The most moral army in the world will not be lectured to on morality fromsomeone who for years has been bombing civilians indiscriminately,”Netanyahu tweeted.

Referring to April Fool’s Day, he added: “Apparently this is how they markApril 1 in Ankara.”

Netanyahu has previously labelled Erdogan as someone who “bombs Kurdishvillagers”.

Israel has defended its soldiers’ actions after they opened fire onPalestinians who strayed from a main protest camp attended by tens ofthousands and approached the heavily fortified fence cutting off the GazaStrip.