Netanyahu Brands Turkish President Erdogan an “Antisemitic Dictator”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office on Friday branded Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan an “antisemitic dictator,” vowing that “Israel will continue to act forcefully against Turkey’s efforts to destabilize the region.”
The statement came days after Syria accused Israel of bombing an air base in the country’s north, near the Turkish border. Netanyahu later openly acknowledged the strike, claiming Turkey sought to establish a military presence there — an allegation Ankara has denied. The remarks also followed Turkey’s push for an international arrest warrant against Netanyahu, accusing him of genocide over Israel’s blockade of aid convoys bound for Gaza.
A statement from Netanyahu’s office said: “Israel has long not been fooled by Turkish hypocrisy. Erdogan is an antisemitic dictator who massacred the Kurds, supported the massacre carried out by the Hamas terrorist organization, and subjugated his own people.” It added that Israel “will continue to act forcefully against Turkey’s efforts to destabilize the region and against any threat to its security.”
On Tuesday, Syria had accused Israel of striking an abandoned military air base near the northwestern city of Aleppo — a facility destroyed during the civil war and inactive since 2013. Israel said a Turkish military delegation had recently visited the site, while a Syrian war monitor said the visit was part of efforts to reactivate the base. Turkey, however, denied any military presence at the base on Thursday and reaffirmed its strong support for Syrian sovereignty.
In an English-language statement issued Friday, Netanyahu’s office accused Erdogan of “seeking to extend his aggression against Israel into Syria,” warning: “Israel will not tolerate this.”